Men’s Basketball team ASUN Title bound after thrilling semifinal resurgence, 79-73

A late-game burst when it mattered most was all the Liberty Flames needed to conquer the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 79-73, and become ASUN Championship bound in front of the largest crowd in Liberty Arena history.

Liberty’s 4,043 fans gathered on Feb. 2 to witness two of the top teams in the conference go neck-and-neck, and they were treated to a second-half resurgence that made the Flames final game on their home court this season a thrilling memory.

A night that ended in an outpour of cheers and applause, however, didn’t begin that way. The Flames first half, much like their game against Queens nearly one week earlier, was a battle to get any kind of point on the board.

Eastern Kentucky and guard Devontae Blanton weren’t having the same problem. The Colonels managed to construct a lead as large as 13 points in the first, taking advantage of Liberty’s inability to sink shots.

This Flames team, however, is no stranger to adversity. Head Coach Ritchie McKay reminded his players of that with a message on his whiteboard as they huddled around him at a media timeout with just over seven minutes on the clock.

“I wrote on the board, 52-26, referencing the Southern Miss game when we got down 26 points and we were only down half as much,” McKay said. “I feel like we’ve been battle-tested in our non-conference schedule and a really good ASUN season and played in some games that had it where you just had to outlast the opponent. I felt like that prepared us the right way, and our guys had a really good response.”

The response came immediately after as the Flames narrowed the deficit to a mere two points at the half.

While Tuesday’s quarterfinal had every right to be dubbed the “Darius McGhee Game,” Thursday’s battle belonged to the true freshman out of the Bluegrass State. Colin Porter put a career night on the court, with 11 first-half points that proved critical in keeping Liberty within striking distance.

Porter ended the game with 25 points, five 3-pointers and 10-16 from the field.

“He stuck his shots,” Eastern Kentucky Head Coach A.W. Hamilton said of Porter. “He’s a really good player. I thought he was tremendous offensively; he didn’t force the issue. He took his open shots. He put us in jail when we were in drop coverage. He really put a lot of pressure on our defense.”

Forward Kyle Rode also played a key role in reviving his team prior to the half, hitting two 3-pointers in high-leverage situations. The second of his two came just before the half from way downtown, bringing the crowd to life.

Just moments later, McGhee would hit his second 3 of the night with just 11 seconds on the clock, finding his rhythm after failing to find the net on five straight attempts from beyond the arc. McGhee was 2-10 from the field in the first, an uncharacteristic performance that Hamilton knew would not last long.

“They’ve got the three-time player of the year in the league. He wasn’t going to continue missing shots,” Hamilton said. “It was only a matter of time (before McGhee started making shots).”

Taking over the game in the second half, however, would be no easy feat for Liberty. After forward Blake Preston opened scoring in the second, the Colonels would propel to a 6-0 run, one that would spark the Flames late-game heroics.

McGhee’s shots began to rain down in his final game in front of the Liberty Arena crowd, putting up 21 points when it mattered most. McGhee’s antics paired with Porter’s confidence drove the team in the closing minutes to surmount the Colonel’s lead.

Eastern Kentucky, however, refused to shy away as the clock ran down. Blanton, who led the Colonels with 23 points and nine assists on the night, put three on the board late in the game to bring the score within one possession.

It was senior Rode, however, who put the nail in the coffin, dropping a 3 in with just 31 seconds on the clock.

“Kyle Rode’s 3, that was a huge possession,” McKay said. “It was an invaluable possession.”

The Flames’ defensive prowess was visible late in the battle, holding the Colonels to six offensive rebounds and two points from turnovers.

“That’s all heart,” McKay said. “These dudes are smart players. If we’re decent enough on the defensive end, we kind of know or can anticipate when the shot’s coming up.”

As the buzzer sounded, the hunt for a conference championship became imminent as the score 79-73 shined on the board.

Following a thrilling two rounds of postseason play, the Kennesaw State Owls are now all that stand between the Liberty Flames and an ASUN Title. It will be a rematch of the two teams that met just weeks prior when the Owls pulled away with a 88-81 triumph to steal the ASUN’s top seed.

The opportunity to coach his team in its fifth conference championship appearance in six years, however, is something that McKay does not take for granted.

“I don’t think people know how hard it is, I really don’t,” McKay said regarding the five appearances. “Especially when you have an expectation or you get preseason this or that, but there’s a room full of guys out there that really have a commitment to trying to get better every day and stay in the lane of consistency and not get too distracted by the expectations or the opinions. They’ve been really process-oriented. To be able to be in five is great. I’d like to win another one.”

The Flames will fight for the title of ASUN Champion in Kennesaw, Georgia, on Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m. The game will air on ESPN 2.

Corey is the sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on Twitter