The Liberty Flames brought a tough brand of basketball to the University of North Florida on Jan. 21, overtaking the Ospreys, 73-62.
The matchup was a brawl from the start. The Flames scored the first five points of the game, but North Florida quickly answered back, evening the scoreboard at five. The two sides would find themselves in an early power struggle that would last for most of the game.
Every time Liberty would make a play, UNF seemed to find a quick answer. When one side made a mistake, the other would capitalize.
The score remained tight for the rest of the first half of play. The Flames never surrendered a lead in the first 15 minutes of the half, despite several moments when the score was tied or the deficit was a single possession.
With the first half coming to a close, Liberty attempted to gain momentum off the back of a powerful dunk from senior forward Shiloh Robinson. They were unable to, however, as UNF took its first lead of the afternoon the final seconds. The Ospreys would be up 37-35 entering the halftime locker room.
The teams were almost even in rebounding and turnovers for the initial frame, but aside from those two statistics, the game was rather lopsided. UNF was much more effective in shooting, hitting 57% of field goals, whereas Liberty only connected on 45% of its attempts.
UNF also made 58% of its shots from 3-point range. The Flames struggled beyond the arc in the first half, with a modest 33% of shots knocked down. Shooting that low of a percentage is especially damaging for this Flames team that relies so heavily on the long ball to score.
The second half, however, would bring more life to the Flames offense. Senior forward Kyle Rode hit two consecutive 3-pointers followed by another from fifth year senior guard Darius McGhee to give the Flames a 44-37 advantage.
The defenses were the story of the second half. Both sides played with physicality inside the paint, and neither was hesitant to commit fouls, including a technical foul from UNF forward Jarius Hickland that may have been the turning point in the game.
After an empty trip to the foul line from senior forward Blake Preston, Robinson would make a layup to put Liberty up two scores. Another 3-pointer from Rode would then extend the lead to three scores.
The Flames’ victory marked the first time in series Liberty has defeated UNF in their home arena, and the first time either of these two teams have defeated the other on the road.
For the Flames, Preston and Robinson were the leading scorers, tallying 17 points apiece. Sophomore guard Joseph Venzant did a lot of dirty work inside the paint for Liberty and snagged 13 rebounds. The Flames offense thrived in the paint, outscoring UNF by 14 such points.
Freshman Guard Colin Porter was once again one of the team’s unsung heroes with a team-leading nine assists.
“(Porter) brings a stability to our group on both ends,” Flames Head Coach Ritchie McKay said. “I think he’s got a chance to be one of the best ever in our program, and to me, he’s as good as any point guard there is out there as a freshman.”
Porter credits his success as a passer to the talent of the players around him.
“I was just trying to take what the defense was giving me. When you have great athletes and people who play above the rim, it makes it easier to do that,” Porter said. “Especially with Darius, the way that he attracts the defense, it allows us driving lanes that we may not get sometimes.”
Flames superstar McGhee had a quiet afternoon as UNF emphasized tight man coverage on him throughout the game, and despite only making a quarter of his shots, he scored 12 points. McKay believes that McGhee’s attention-grabbing talent was a key factor in showcasing the other players on the roster.
“Darius is such a special player sometimes, and what gets lost in that is how good the other guys are, and sometimes, that goodness is reflected in them starring in their roles,” he said following the game.
The Flames leave Jacksonville with a true team win, their fourth straight. Liberty looks to pick up a fifth consecutive victory against Stetson Jan. 26.
Wheeler is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter