Liberty (18-9, 9-3) will be happy to get out of Jacksonville after dropping its second straight on the road trip, falling at North Florida (9-18, 5-8), 72-69.
“You don’t play teams’ records, you play teams,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay after the game. “All the work we did from the 1-3 start to now losing two in a row, that doesn’t matter to anyone. We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to get better for the stretch run.”
After a slow start in conference play, North Florida has rebounded to win three out of their last four games and four out of six, including wins over Jacksonville State and now Liberty.
The Flames led by 10 points following Shiloh Robinson’s layup with 15:33 left in the game as it looked like Liberty might be able to pull this one out. The Ospreys would go on a 27-9 run over the next 11 minutes to seize control of the game at 67-59 with 4:39 to play.
After this brief two-game road-trip, the Flames return home to take on Stetson Saturday. Tip-off from Liberty Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be carried on ESPN+. The Hatters are currently 11-14 on the season and 5-7 in ASUN play entering their game Wednesday night against Jacksonville. Liberty defeated Stetson, 75-59, in the ASUN opener for both teams on Jan. 4.
Here are our three main takeaways from today’s game:
FLAMES HAD THE FINAL SHOT TO TIE THE GAME
After falling behind in the late minutes, Liberty made a final push to bring themselves within one possession at the end. The Flames trailed by eight with four minutes left before an 8-3 burst cut the UNF lead to three thanks to three Darius McGhee free throws with 1:25 to play. Unfortunately, that would be the end of the scoring for the Flames.
Liberty got a defensive stop after the McGhee free throws, and Kyle Rode had an open look from three that bounced off the rim. Shiloh Robinson stole a pass with 18 seconds left, but he missed a three pointer that bounced out of bounds off North Florida with just over two seconds on the clock. After an official review and timeout, Shiloh Robinson had another look from three but missed as time expired.
“I told our guys, ‘shoot the catch if you can, if not, try to get a good one,'” said McKay of the final possession. “They played everyone at the three point line so they were going to give us a two. Shiloh was the only one open. I was satisfied (with the look).”
JARIUS HICKLEN’S 31 POINTS LEADS UNF
With their top two scorers – Jose Placer and Carter Hendricksen – out of the game due to injury, it was Division II transfer Jarius Hicklen who had the hot hand and paced the Ospreys. Hicklen transferred to UNF from Oklahoma Baptist where he starred under former Liberty assistant coach Jason Eaker. He had a chance to play at Liberty this season, but the Flames opted to go in another direction.
Hicklen made Liberty second guess themselves Tuesday night. He led all scorers with 31 points, making 11 of 20 field goals and 8 of 16 from three-point range.
“He’s been playing great,” said McKay of Hicklen. “He wanted to come to Liberty, so all the more reason that it hurts. Yeah, it’s part of it. I think he played so confidently that he infused their group. They are playing with a lot of freedom.”
LIBERTY DROPS A 2ND STRAIGHT ASUN GAME FOR JUST THE 2ND TIME
For only the second time in four seasons since joining the ASUN, Liberty has a losing streak in conference play. The only previous time the Flames lost consecutive ASUN games was Jan. 23 and Jan. 25, 2020 when Liberty fell at Stetson and at North Florida. Liberty would rebound after those losses to win eight straight and 11 out of 12 to win a second straight conference title.
“We need execution,” McKay said of his team’s current struggles. “We need discipline. We need a commitment. You can’t let a team do what they want against you. For someone to play us zone, and we turn it over (six) times in the second half. That is fairly discouraging. It is what it is. Our group has a ton of character. I love them. I think they will bounce back, and I think we’re winners regardless of the outcome but obviously I want us to play better.”
UNF was 14 of 31 (45.2%) from three-point range in the win. In addition to Hicklen’s strong play behind the arc, Jordan Preaster also knocked down 5 of his 11 triples.
“We’ve got to be better,” McKay said of his defense. “I’m not going to make excuses. That’s on me, that’s my responsibility. We’ve just got to do a better job of making sure that we’re accountable for that end of the floor.”
