Men’s basketball falls short to Virginia Tech after program-first round of 64 win

The clock struck midnight and Liberty’s Cinderella story came to a close in San Jose, California, Sunday, March 24. The 12-seeded Flames fell short to No. 4 Virginia Tech 67-58.

The game was Liberty’s first trip to the round of 32 in the tournament and their second matchup against the Hokies this season. The Hokies defeated the Flames 86-70 in their first matchup in November, which was  a preseason scrimmage to benefit those impacted by Hurricanes Florence and Michael.

In the tournament matchup, Liberty’s freshman Darius McGhee led with 15 points, followed by guards Lovell Cabbil and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz with nine points each.  McGhee’s 15 points were from three-pointers, one short of his career-high six in a game. 

Redshirt junior guard Caleb Homesley was held to only eight points, much less than the 30 he scored in the first round of the tournament.

The game was also the last for three senior Flames. Senior transfer forward Keenan Gumbs, guard Zach Farquhar and Cabbil each saw their last time on the court Sunday. Cabbil ended his career with the Flames as Liberty’s winningest player ever with 85 wins over the course of his four-year career, as well as being the 26th player in program history to break the 1,000 points mark with 1,408 career points.

“It was pretty special for us,” Cabbil said. “The group of guys that we have on our team is amazing, just to be around and do life with them every day. It’s a fun time every day, all day when we’re with each other. Throughout this entire journey from the offseason to this point was just a blast and I’m really sad that it’s coming to an end.”

The Hokies, on the other hand, had four players scoring double digits. They were led by forward Kerry Blackshear with 19 points, followed by guard Abdul Hill with 14 points and guard Justin Robinson with 13. 

After a short scoreless defensive battle for the first two minutes of the game, the Flames started the game strong, leading for a large portion of the first half by as much as eight. Liberty shot a strong 48 percent in the first half, as well as 39 percent from three. 

Their lead and strong play did not last, however, as their accuracy dwindled in the second half. The Hokies surged forward with 10 minutes remaining, correcting their 35 percent shooting from the first half into 48 percent in the second. 

Liberty failed to keep up as the half waned on, growing colder and colder as its shooting percentage drained away with the time. The Flames shot a harsh 27 percent overall and suffered a five-minute scoring drought.

The Flames will return home as Virginia Tech moves on to face Duke in the Sweet Sixteen.

“Mike Young, the coach at Wofford, had a great quote that I think encapsulates our season,” Flames Head Coach Ritchie McKay said. “He said, ‘Don’t be sad because it’s ended. Be happy because it occurred.’”