Liberty (13-8, 2-4) falls at Jacksonville State (11-10, 3-3), 73-62, on Saturday evening in Jacksonville, Alabama.

“Congratulations to Jax State,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “I thought they executed their game plan really well and did a great job of being really physical and got their desired outcome.”

This marks the first time the Flames have lost to the same team twice in the regular season since the 2017-18 season when the team was in the Big South for its final season before moving to the ASUN.

The game was back and forth for much of the first half with the lead changing hands several times. The Gamecocks would take control of things in the second half though, utilizing their size advantage, particularly on the perimeter. Jacksonville State shot 62% from the field for the game.

Four players reached double figures for Liberty in the loss led by Kyle Rode and Colin Porter who each had 15. All 15 of Porter’s points came after halftime. Brody Peebles chipped in 14 points while Zach Cleveland added 10. Liberty committed just 5 turnovers in the game while shooting 9 of 28 from three for 32% and just 9 of 17 from the free throw line for 53%.

The Flames continue their three-game road swing on Thursday at New Mexico State and then at UTEP on Saturday.

STRUGGLES FROM FREE THROW LINE STING

Liberty hasn’t been the best team from the free throw line this season, shooting 66.2% from the charity stripe entering Saturday’s game. The struggles were more pronounced in Jacksonville though with the team making just 9 of 17 from the free throw line in the game.

“None of our guys are trying to miss,” McKay said. “We’re not trying to miss free throws. We’re trying to win the game, sometimes it doesn’t go.”

Zach Cleveland missed all six of his attempts while Joseph Venzant was 0 for 2. It’s difficult to overcome that poor shooting at the line, especially on the road in conference play.

“Going 9 for 17 is tough,” said McKay. “We’re not going to last long if the game is that physical. They did a good job of out-physicaling us. Obviously, we’ve got to shoot a little better. I think our guys played tough.”

FLAMES GO COLD DOWN THE STRETCH

The Flames trailed by 9 with 5:47 left in the game. Then, the team went on a quick 7-0 burst to cut the lead to 2 at 62-60 with just over 4 minutes to play. From there, the team did not make another field goal and only scored two points on Colin Porter made free throws with less than a minute remaining after the game was already in hand.

It was an 8-0 JSU run to put the game out of reach in these closing minutes. Liberty was 0/4 from the field and missed the front end of a 1-and-1 as the game slipped out of reach.

“After we made our run, we played great defense on Tandy and we got called for taking his space,” McKay explained. “He got an and-1. Instead of it being our ball with a chance to get it back to a one possession game, it was a three possession game.”

LIBERTY REMAINS WINLESS ON THE ROAD IN CONFERENCE

The Flames fall to 2-4 in conference play and are now 0-3 on the road since the calendar turned to 2024 and CUSA play began. Liberty lost to Western Kentucky by two points and fell at Louisiana Tech in overtime previously. Now, a second loss to Jacksonville State in the month to fall to 2-4.

“They were relentless at pounding the ball inside, made a couple of threes early and loosened up our defense,” McKay said. “They’d drive the ball in as far as you can, get some contract, and try to shoot over you. That’s the script. If it’s not called an offensive foul, then you are going to gain an advantage. We’ve got to do a better job of teaching our guys of how to handle that contact.”

Things won’t get any easier as Liberty plays on the road for its next two games, at New Mexico State and UTEP. CUSA teams are currently 22-4 in conference play on their home floor.

“I love these guys,” McKay stated. “I love how hard they compete. We will see if we can’t be better next week.”