McGhee Sets Program Record with 48 Points in Win Over FGCU

Liberty’s Darius McGhee put on a historical performance Saturday night at FGCU, scoring a program record 48 points, as the Flames defeated FGCU, 78-75, at Alico Arena. Liberty improves to 12-6 overall and 3-0 in the ASUN while FGCU drops to 11-7 and 1-3 in conference. The Flames completed the comeback as FGCU’s largest lead was 11 points in the first half and overcame a nine-point deficit at halftime.

First Half

Darius McGhee and Shiloh Robinson kickstarted Liberty’s offense to start the game, scoring the team’s first 17 points. McGhee scored nine points in the first seven minutes of the contest. It was a tight ball game throughout most of the first half, but FGCU would end the half on a 16-5 run over the last four minutes to take a 40-31 lead at halftime. McGhee led all scorers in the first half with 11 points. FGCU dominated the paint in the first 20 minutes, outscoring Liberty 28-8 inside the paint.

Second Half

Liberty quickly erased FGCU’s lead as the Flames started the half on a 13-0 run to retake the lead with all 13 points coming from McGhee. All throughout the second half, McGhee was special, scoring 37 of Liberty’s 48 points in the second half. Throughout the final half, there were five lead changes, and the game was tied three times and with 2:30 left in the game, FGCU would take the lead (65-64) off a Caleb Catto three-pointer. From that point on, Liberty would regain the lead off a McGhee jumper and a Kyle Rode steal at the 1:54 mark to make it 68-65 and the Flames were able to hold on for the victory. Liberty shot 60 percent in the second half and 55 percent from three-point range to come away with the victory.

Key Stats & Notes

• McGhee set a Liberty program record scoring 48 points.
• McGhee’s 48 points is the most points scored by a Division I individual player this season.
• McGhee moved to No. 13 on Liberty’s all-time scoring list with 1,462 career points, passing George Sweet.
• McGhee recorded his second 40-point game this season, third 30-point game of his career and second of the season.
• Shiloh Robinson shot a perfect 7-7 from the field, scoring 16 points.
• Liberty shot 48 percent from the field.

Thoughts from Head Coach Ritchie McKay

“Treasure it (watching Darius McGhee play), that guy is a special player, and I was really proud of our group. We came out at the beginning of the second half, and it was very instrumental of the outcome of the game.”

Up Next

Liberty will return home next week to face Jacksonville on Tuesday, Jan. 18, at Liberty Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.