Campbell’s three-point shooting beats out the Flames

Following a thrilling shootout that saw a total of 32 three-point shots hit home, the Liberty Flames basketball team fell short of edging the Campbell Fighting Camels 94-85 January 23 at the Vines Center.

In record-breaking fashion, Campbell guards Chris Clemons and Marcus Burk each drained 10 three pointers, the first teammates to do so in one game in NCAA history. This three-point barrage left Flames head coach Ritchie McKay and his team with no answer.

“We hang our hat on our defense,” McKay said. “But fellas, can I call a spade a spade? That was a shooting clinic. They were shooting from way beyond the arc and they were making them. There’s not many teams in the country against any defense that will shoot that high of a percentage.”

The game began with the Flames finding themselves in a 14-0 deficit. Flames freshman Keegan McDowell’s perfect first half shooting percentage helped pull the Flames out of their scoring drought and into a 47-42 halftime score in favor of the Fighting Camels.

“I was trying to do whatever I could to help the team,” McDowell said. “I struggled for a while in the middle of the season, but I kept on preparing the same way.”

Preparing has been the highest hurdle in the road for the Flames to jump, as injuries have forced freshmen into key roles.

“I’m not trying to make excuses, but we have two freshmen who are playing a ton of minutes,” McKay said. “And playing against that (Campbell) with one day prep? That’s a recipe for disaster.”

That disaster largely came in the form of Clemons and Burk, who accounted for 74 of the Camels 94 points.

“It was impressive,” McKay said. “I’m going to call Coach McGeehan and see if he can give me some shooting tips. They have arguably one of the best scorers in the country. We watched him score 51 (points) against Asheville last year. He’s really good.”

The Flames fought back in the second half, after a layup from sophomore forward Scottie James knotted the game at 47. This was the closest the Flames ever got to taking the lead.

Senior guard Ryan Kemrite finished the night second in points scored for the Flames with 17.

“That’s something that speaks to the character of the guys,” Kemrite said. “We’ve got the type of guys on this team to battle back. And props to our guys, we battled. It’s hard when teams are shooting the rock like they (Campbell) are.”

The Flames hard fought effort to tie the game ended in vain as the Fighting Camels relentless three-point shots proved to be too much for the injury plagued Flames squad to overcome.

“We need days off,” McKay said. “I’ll be honest with you. We need to get guys healthy.”

When asked if he had ever seen a team maintain the amount of shots that the Fighting Camels made from behind the arc for an entire game, Kemrite answered honestly.

“No,” Kemrite said. “Never. Not on TV, not even on NBA 2K. It’s hard when someone’s making contested three’s. Deep three’s. It feels like an uphill battle.”

The Flames uphill battle continues as they will be playing nine consecutive Big South conference games to conclude the regular season.

Currently the McKay lead squad holds a 12-10 record as they approach the final stretch of the season.

Tuesday’s loss to Campbell marked only the fifth time this season that the Flames offense has score 85 or more points. As the Flames near postseason play they will need their offense to continue to contribute sizable points to compete against tournament competition.

“We’re just going to get back in and practice tomorrow, and we’re going to keep working,” Kemrite said. “There’s no magic formula, and there are no championships won in January.”

After losing five consecutive games, the Flames finally ended their losing streak with an 81-66 victory over Presbyterian Saturday, Jan. 27, in North Carolina.

At halftime, the Flames held a comfortable lead 35-20. Coming into the second half, the Blue Hose found their offensive rhythm, doubling the amount of points scored in the first half.

The Flames shot 60 percent from the field and over 50 percent from the 3-point line. Kemrite led his team in scoring with 21 points. McDowell contributed with 19 points, and guards Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz and Ezra Talbert each pitched in four points.

According to libertyflames.com, the Flames total shooting percentage against Presbyterian was the Flames highest shooting percentage since 2013, when Liberty played Greensboro College.

The Flames take on Winthrop University Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. in the Vines Center.

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