In front of the second largest crowd in the history of Liberty Arena at 4,007, Liberty (18-5, 9-1) outlasted FGCU (14-9, 4-6), 74-57.
“A lot of respect for Gulf Coast,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Coach Chambers, I’ve watched his work for years. I know they’d have a plan and they’ve got really good players. That was really good for us to be in a game like that. I thought we showed a great deal of composure, especially in the second half. I think we tightened up our defense a little bit.”
FGCU is one of the most talented teams in the ASUN and had one of the more impressive non-conference performances in the league this season. They showcased their ability in the first half, pushing the Flames on their home court unlike any team in the conference has done this season.
Liberty led by just four points at halftime, thanks in part to Kyle Rode’s 12 points as he connected on all four of his three point attempts in the first half. In the second period, Liberty’s defense flexed its muscles and allowed the team to stretch its lead.
Darius McGhee led the team in scoring with 24 points. Kyle Rode chipped in 16 points while Shiloh Robinson added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Blake Preston had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Liberty will return to action this week with two games away from home, beginning Thursday night at Austin Peay with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The Governors are currently 8-15 on the season and 2-8 in ASUN play. The Flames will then play at Lipscomb on Saturday at 5 p.m. EST.
McGHEE, RODE PROVIDE OFFENSIVE PUNCH
In the first half, it was Kyle Rode who provided some scoring to help keep the Flames in front of the Eagles. He had 12 points at halftime as he made all four of his three point attempts in the opening, including one that came at the first half buzzer to give Liberty a four point lead at the break. This came just one game after Rode missed all five of his three pointers on Thursday night against Stetson. The 6’7″ senior forward finished the game with 16 points and was 6 of 11 from the field.
Meanwhile, Darius McGhee was his typical self, finishing with a game-high 24 points to go along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Darius was 10 of 21 from the field and 3 of 10 from three.
DEFENSE FLEXES IN 2ND HALF
FGCU found success against Liberty on the offensive end in the first half. The visiting team scored 34 first half points while shooting 50% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. That level of performance did not carry over into the second half as Liberty picked up its intensity on that side of the court. FGCU finished shooting just 9 of 25 from the field after halftime as they finished the game shooting 42.9% from the field.
“When you play a good team, there are going to be times they have good field goal percentages,” said McKay. “We’re not going to get away from everybody every night out, but I really think our guys took it upon themselves to be hard to play against in the second half.”
THIS TEAM IS TOUGH AT HOME
Liberty is a really good team this year, as evidenced by their record and computer rankings, but this team has become nearly unbeatable at home, especially in conference play. The Flames have played six home conference games so far this season, winning those games by margins of 29, 34, 18, 20, 29, and 17. The win against FGCU Saturday night was the closest margin Liberty has had in a home conference game so far this year.
“The crowd was phenomenal tonight,” McKay stated. “I don’t usually get into it with the arms and all that, but I was proud of our guys’ defensive effort. I think they infused some confused in us. When you get a home court advantage because of the atmosphere like that, I think you can be a really tough out at home. It’s another opportunity to get better, and I think we capitalized on it. We feel pretty comfortable when we play at Liberty Arena.”
