Liberty (12-4, 3-0) handled last year’s ASUN Tournament representative, Jacksonville State (7-9, 0-3), on Thursday night with a 75-41 victory.
“I thought our effort defensively was what was needed in order to set a little bit of a tone and beat a team that can really get away from you quickly,” said head coach Ritchie McKay. “They are tremendously athletic, play with a lot of confidence, probably a little different tonight because I think we got ahead early and they missed a couple. I think they were a little frustrated. That’s a good team, I’ve said that before.”
The Gamecocks opened the game scoring the first two points and taking an early 4-2 lead, but that would be all the lead the visiting team would enjoy. Liberty responded with a 16-0, while holding JSU scoreless for nearly nine minutes of game action. The Flames would lead by as many as 27 in the opening half, and go into the break with a 38-13 lead.
“Our guys are confident on the defensive end,” said McKay. “They are playing together. They are connected on that end. I think that leads to sometimes a really good offensive flow.”
Darius McGhee led the team with 22 points and 7 assists as he made 6 of 10 from three. Brody Peebles added 16 points while making 5 of 7 from three. Blake Preston had 10 points to round out the double figure scorers.
Liberty has a quick turnaround, traveling to take on Eastern Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. The Colonels are currently 8-7 on the season and 1-1 in conference play entering their game Thursday night at Central Arkansas.
FLAMES GET SOME PAYBACK
When Jacksonville State made their first ever trip to Liberty Arena, the Flames were holding a 45 game home win streak. The Gamecocks put that streak to an end on that night in January a year ago. It would help propel them to a regular season title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Flames would leave nothing to chance this time. Liberty seized control of the game in the opening minutes, holding JSU scoreless for nearly 9 minutes in the first half to open up a sizable lead the Flames wouldn’t relinquish.
DEFENSE CONTINUES TO PLAY AT INSANE LEVEL
Since conference play started, Liberty has taken its level of play on the defensive side of the ball to an incredibly high level. The Flames held Lipscomb to just 48 points on Monday night. In the first half Thursday, Liberty held Jacksonville State to just 13 points. It was the fewest points the Flames have held an opponent to in a half this season, previously holding both Regent and Bradley to 17 points. In the opening 20 minutes, JSU was just 4 of 20 from the field, 1 of 7 from three, and had 9 turnovers.
“We’ve had stretches in all of our time back that we were playing good basketball, but I think defensively this group has got a little something extra because we have guys that are really good individual defenders,” said McKay. “When you put that in the context of the team, sometimes you can outlast people. I think this team is doing that on a fairly consistent basis, but it’s January 5th. We’ve got a ways to go.”
DARIUS McGHEE MAKES SOME (MORE) HISTORY
With his three pointer at the 15:28 mark of the second half, Darius McGhee surpassed Larry Blair for No. 2 on Liberty’s all time scoring list. McGhee only trails former Liberty guard Karl Hess who finished his career with 2,373 points. He now stands alone among Liberty’s all-time scorers at the Division I level.
Blair finished his career with 2,211 points. With his 22 points on Thursday night, McGhee now has 2,216 career points.
“7 assists, 0 turnovers,” McKay pointed out. “Darius McGhee, he’s an All-American. He’s one of, if not the, best players to ever put on a Liberty jersey. He represents he, his family, and our program really well. Super proud of him.”
