Liberty’s 45-game home win streak comes to an end three years to the date the Flames last suffered a home loss. Liberty (14-7, 5-1) was bested by Jacksonville State (15-6, 8-0), 77-67.
“We just got some kids that compete, they’re coming together,” said Jacksonville State head coach Ray Harper. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. They’re really good, but man, we made plays. Every time they made a run, … Finch goes and makes a play, we get a stop. We were good. We were good. We knew we were going to have to be to have a chance.”
Liberty trailed the Gamecocks, 38-25, at halftime, marking the first time Liberty has trailed in a home game at halftime in Liberty Arena history. The last time the Flames trailed at halftime in a home game was on March 5, 2020 in the ASUN semifinals against Stetson. Liberty’s 13 point halftime deficit Saturday night is the most points the Flames have trailed by at half in a home game since trailing Lipscomb by 18 three years ago to the date in what was Liberty’s last home loss on January 29, 2019.
The Flames would come out of the locker room with a lot of energy looking to cut into the JSU lead and make a ferocious comeback. Liberty would cut it to five on four different occasions in a three minute span, the final time coming at 10:05 left in the game. Jacksonville State would respond every time, going on a 6-0 sport after the Flames cut it to 50-45 midway through the second period.
Another quick turnaround for the Flames as they head on the road for the first of three games away from home. Liberty will play at Kennesaw State on Monday night at 7 pm on ESPN+ in a game that has been scheduled twice and pushed back due to COVID protocols with each team at different times. The Owls are 9-11 overall and 4-3 in league play following their loss to North Alaama on Saturday night.
Here are our three main takeaways from today’s game:
WIN STREAK COMES TO AN END
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. That was the case for the Flames on Saturday night at Liberty Arena. 45 straight games. Three years to the day. And the win streak is no more.
“I said in the locker room to our guys, very thankful for all the players that are in that locker room and for Myo, Zach, Luke, and the guys that aren’t – Caleb, Lovell – to win 45 games in a row at home is amazing,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Sad that the streak has come to an end, but they were the better team tonight. Hopefully we will learn from it. We’ve got a tough stretch coming up. Our bounce-back needs to happen fast.”
JSU’S PHYSICALITY TESTED THE FLAMES
Jacksonville State was very physical against the Flames, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. They used their length and switched everything on Liberty guard Darius McGhee, making it incredibly difficult for him to get a clean look. McGhee would finish with 25 points but he was just 9 of 26 from the field and 4 of 15 from three. He would add 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
“They are a good defensive team,” said McKay. “The last two games have been really physical, but that one hasn’t been as physical since LSU. We’ve got to find a way to respond to that. You know Darius is the target. I think teams are willing to grab and hold him and make the referee blow the whistle because what do you got to lose? Unless they keep blowing it and it taxes you, I’m not making excuses, again Jacksonville State deserved to win, they played great defense, they played really good offense.”
Part of that physicality led to 12 Liberty turnovers that JSU turned into 16 points. It helped dig the Flames into a hole it was unable to dig out of. The final time Liberty cut the lead to five, the Flames had turnovers on three straight possessions that helped ignite a 6-0 JSU run as they once again pushed their lead to double figures.
PATH FOR HOME COURT BECOMES DIFFICULT
The top seeds play on their home court throughout the ASUN Tournament, and Liberty just made its path for the top seed incredibly difficult. The Flames are now one game behind Jacksonville State in the loss column, and, with those two teams only playing once in the regular season, the Gamecocks will own the tiebreaker over Liberty, if needed. It’s not impossible, but the margin for error is razor thin now.
“The good thing is, it’s January 29th,” McKay said. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think they’re crowning a champ yet. We’ve got room to improve to see if we can get better and continue to make a run.”
