Flames basketball celebrates seniors with win over Kennesaw State Owls

On Feb. 26, 2016, the Liberty Flames men’s basketball team stood at a dismal 12-18. They were blown out the night before, losing 73-56 on the road at UNC Asheville.

Exactly three years later, the script was flipped — and then some. 

The Flames clinched their Division I program-record 24th win of the season Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, defeating the Kennesaw State Owls, 76-59, on “Senior Night” at the Vines Center.

“We chose to go the hard and difficult way … but the guys that have stayed (and) that have really invested in the building of this program; I’m telling you I’m really proud of them,” Liberty Head Coach Ritchie McKay said. “And I think 24 wins is great, but I hope we win more.”

Guard Lovell Cabbil, Jr., guard Zach Farquhar and forward Keenan Gumbs, who transferred to Liberty prior to this season from Schreiner University in Texas, were honored as seniors shortly before the Flames took the court and rolled to the record-setting victory.

While the Flames are currently enjoying unprecedented success, not too long along almost the complete opposite was true. 

Cabbil and redshirt-junior Caleb Homesley were both on the 2015-16 squad that finished 13-19 after weathering an ugly 12-game losing streak. 

“It was really hard coming from thinking you’re going to win every game to going and not winning,” Homesley said. “And I think it was hard on us because we were a young team.”

The tumultuous season was McKay’s first back coaching the Flames after a six-year hiatus as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia. All but one member of the team was either a freshman or sophomore.

Cabbil was one of those freshmen. 

This year, as a senior, in his last regular season home game, Cabbil scored 12 points, dished six assists and won his 80th contest in a Flames uniform, making him a part of the winningest senior class in program history.

“Just the road to get here — it’s been hard and a lot of work,” Cabbil said. “We started off the first year really bad, and I feel it’s just gotten better over the years, and I’ve been a part of that. It means a lot.”

When it comes to long and difficult journeys, there may be no one more familiar than Homesley. 

On Dec. 10, 2016, about one month into Homesley’s second year on the team, he suffered a gruesome season-ending knee injury against Princeton University that required ACL surgery.

“The game against Princeton, when he was on the floor, I didn’t know what to say to him,” McKay said.

Fast-forward to “Senior Night” versus Kennesaw State in 2019. 

Homesley, in an acrobatic move to the basket with just over three minutes left in the game, scored his 1,000 career point as a Flame, becoming the 27th player to surpass the milestone.

“You have a great story for ‘Senior Night’ next year because I told him he wasn’t going to make it here,” McKay said. “He was the laziest, softest … dude that had that much talent that I’d ever seen. Now he’s a pro.” 

Against the Owls, Homesley led the charge offensively with 17 points as all five starters scored in double figures for the first time this season. He also threw down two monstrous dunks that thrilled the home crowd of 3,376. 

One of the dunks checked in at No. 2 on ESPN SportsCenter’s top 10 plays of the night and helped the Flames jump out to a 19-9 advantage with just over 13 minutes left in the first half.

But Kennesaw State, led by guard Danny Lewis, who finished with a career-high 27 points, rallied to get within 33-29 at halftime.

Liberty responded with a strong start to the second half, as sophomore guard Elijah Cuffee hit back-to-back three-pointers before feeding junior forward Scottie James for a fast-break dunk that put the Flames up 41-29. The Owls never recovered.

Cuffee ended the game with 16 points, converting on 5-of-7 field goals and 4-of-5 three-point attempts.

“It feels really good,” Cuffee said. “I’ve been kind of frustrated with my shot throughout the last couple of games, and it just feels good to finally see it go back in.”

Having a hot hand is a huge confidence booster for Cuffee as Liberty gets set to enter postseason action. The Flames hosted a quarterfinal contest March 4.

It is a far cry from the position Homesley and Cabbil were in at the same point three years ago.

“I really want to pay respect to the coaches for sticking with us and really building a good culture,” Homesley said. “I think that right now we have one of the best cultures in the country. … Guys that are around have really bought in.”