‘This is a process’

Flames drop two in a row after going on seven-game tear in Big South play

Radford 69, Liberty 67

All good things must come to an end. The Liberty men’s basketball team (12-16, 9-6 BSC) experienced what that was like Thursday, Feb. 18, seeing its seven-game winning streak snapped in a 69-67 loss to the Radford Highlanders (15-12, 8-7 BSC) in the Vines Center.

Radford senior guard Rashun Davis hit a mid-range jumper with 5.1 seconds to play in regulation to give the Highlanders their first lead since the start of the second half. Flames sophomore center Evan Maxwell had a chance to tie the game as time expired, but his layup attempt rolled off the back of the basket, securing the win for Radford.

“It definitely stings,” Flames redshirt-sophomore guard Ryan Kemrite said. “I mean, any loss stings, but (this hurts) especially since we’ve been winning. … It’s a wake-up call. It’s a slap in the face. But we’ve got a quick turnaround, and we have to get it out quick.”

Flames redshirt-sophomore guard John Dawson led both teams in scoring with a career-high 22 points. He added seven rebounds and four assists, while Kemrite contributed 10 points and six rebounds for the Flames, who suffered their first loss in more than a month (Jan. 16 vs. Winthrop).

For the Highlanders, senior guard Cameron Jones finished with 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half, and nine rebounds. Jones came into the game averaging 18.9 points per game in his last six contests. Davis added 16 points, and freshman forward Ed Polite Jr. notched 10 points and eight rebounds.

Both teams started off slowly on offense, as the first four minutes of the game saw only two baskets from each team. After Dawson knocked down a three-pointer to give the Flames a 5-4 lead with 16:18 remaining, the Flames remained in control throughout the first half. They led for more than 15 minutes and by as many as eight in the half before allowing the Highlanders to come storming back in the final minutes.

“I think we got complacent,” Dawson said. “We got entitled, acting like our defense was going to show up without us having to work hard. So I guess this is a punch in the mouth saying that we have to let our defense dictate our game.”

The Highlanders ended the half on a 9-5 run to take a 30-29 lead into halftime after shooting 45.8 percent from the field. The Flames shot 39.3 percent, but were 4-of-11 from three-point range in the first half to keep them in the game.

Liberty started the second half on a high note when freshman guard Caleb Homesley drove into the paint from the right wing and threw down a ferocious left-handed dunk to give the Flames a 31-30 lead. They would not relinquish that lead until the final seconds.

Both teams heated up in the second half, with Radford shooting 56 percent in the final half and Liberty shooting an even 50 percent from the field. The Highlanders finished the game shooting 51 percent while the Flames finished with a 44.8 field goal percentage for the game.

The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the game, with the Flames stretching their lead to as many as six and holding the Highlanders at bay. The Flames led 65-59 with 2:39 remaining before Jones took over and brought Radford back yet again.

Jones hit a three to cut the Flames lead to 65-62 with 2:18 left in the game. Then, after a Flames turnover, he knocked down a baseline jump shot and was fouled by Kemrite. He made the free throw to complete the three-point play and tie the game at 65 with 1:29 left to play.

Dawson made a layup to give the lead back to the Flames with 1:10 remaining, but the Highlanders quickly responded to tie it up at 67. After Davis put the Highlanders in front with his jumper, Dawson took the ball up court and called a timeout once he crossed half court. With 2.6 seconds to go, Kemrite lobbed a perfect inbound pass to Maxwell, who put up a contested layup, but watched it roll off the basket as the home crowd groaned in agony.

“That’s a play that we’ve run in the past,” Flames Head Coach Ritchie McKay said. “Ryan threw a heck of a pass, and I think Evan had a little more time than he thought. But he got a good look and I’ll take that (shot) any day of the week.”

Vandenbosch is the sports editor.

Presbyterian 79, Liberty 73

Sophomore forward DeSean Murray put the Blue Hose (9-18, 4-12) on his back, scoring 28 points and bringing down 12 rebounds, as he rendered Flames Head Coach Ritchie McKay’s pack line defense — the No. 1 scoring defense in the Big South — almost completely ineffective.

Presbyterian College beat the Liberty Flames (12-17, 9-7) 79-73 Saturday Feb. 19, handing Liberty their second straight loss and dropping them to sixth place in the Big South conference after being only one game out of first place less than a week ago.

“I felt like we heard so many good things about what we were doing that maybe we started to believe it and hoped for it instead of earning it,” McKay said. “Our guys accelerated people’s excitement, even our own. But this is a process. … I was at UVA for six years. Our first two years we were .500. It takes a while.”

The Flames won seven straight games before losing the last two to Radford and Presbyterian by a combined margin of eight points. In the Presbyterian game especially, the Flames defense could not carry them when they needed it most.

“Maybe we are just being complacent,” Freshman Guard A.C. Reid said. “When you win seven games in a row you become a target — teams are going to give you their very best.”

Presbyterian gave Liberty just that, as their 79 points were a season high in conference play.

“To me the difference in the game was DeSean Murray,” McKay said. “He thought he could score whenever he wanted. He scored eight points against the double team tonight. I’ve never seen that.”

Murray’s 28 points and 11 defensive rebounds matched his career highs in those categories. He also had three steals and two assists and shot 61 percent from the field.

“(Murray’s) a beast,” redshirt sophomore guard Ryan Kemrite said. “He’s strong. But we just let him do whatever he wanted.”

The Blue Hose took their first lead of the game with 6:47 left to play in the first half and only relinquished it for 25 seconds shortly after before regaining it and never letting up. The Flames tied the game with 7:49 to play in the second half but could not get the defensive stops needed to pull ahead.

“We should have the defensive mindset that can carry us through dry spells on the offense and tonight we didn’t,” Kemrite said. “Being good means you do it every now and then. Being great means you do it consistently. We have to be able to be more consistent on the defensive end.”

Presbyterian earned their largest lead of the game with 52 seconds remaining, but Liberty fought to the end as they made three 3-point field goals in the final minute.

But the defense could not hold the Blue Hose.

“We didn’t defend as a team,” Reid said. “When you don’t play team defense you don’t have a good chance at winning the game. “Reid and Kemrite, who had 18 and 15 points respectively, led Liberty for most of the night as freshman guard Lovell Cabbil and sophomore center Evan Maxwell were in foul trouble for most of the second half. Redshirt sophomore guard John Dawson had the second most minutes on the team, but only managed to score three points and committed five of Liberty’s 10 turnovers.

“I just felt like this was coming,” McKay said. “ …The team that is favored to win, they all of a sudden feel the pressure and the other team has nothing to lose.”

As a team that is 92 percent underclassmen, the young players on this Liberty team had never gone into a game as the favorite, until these last few games.

“We’ll have to finish the season strong when doubt or maybe a little fear creeps in,” McKay said. “We’ve got to find a way to get back to who we are …”

The Flames take to the road Feb. 25 against UNC Asheville before returning home Feb. 27 for their final regular season game against Gardner-Webb.

“We’ll get the ship headed in the right direction again,” McKay said. “It’s just going to be a process.”

Schmieg is the asst. sports editor.