Liberty completed its three-game road trip, going 3-0, after defeating Eastern Kentucky, 91-84, to improve to 17-7 overall and 8-1 in the ASUN Conference.
EKU drops to 11-12 and 3-7 in the conference.
Liberty had five players score double figures, led by Darius McGhee’s 21 points.
How it went down
It was a fast start for both teams on offense as there were nine lead changes by the first media timeout with seven of the first eight shots in the game were made from beyond the arc. Liberty would go on a 9-0 run to take a 22-14 lead, sparked by Keegan McDowell scoring eight points in the first nine minutes of the game. Liberty would play exceptional offense in the first half, shooting 62 percent, and went into the break with a 49-30 lead.
McGhee and McDowell led Liberty with 14 points each as the Flames recorded 14 assists off 18 made field goals.
Eastern Kentucky started the second half on a 17-5 run to get back into the game and get Liberty’s lead to single digits (54-47) less than five minutes into the half. After Liberty reclaimed its double-digit lead, the Colonels stormed back to cut Liberty’s lead to seven points at the 15:53-mark and Liberty responded by going on an 11-0 run to get back its lead to double-digits. Eastern Kentucky continued to fight and was able to once again cut Liberty’s lead to single digits, making it 82-73 with 2:30 minutes left in the game.
From that point on, Liberty converted 7-10 free throws to come away with the victory.
Notes
- Liberty has won its eighth straight ASUN road game, which is a program record.
- Darius McGhee moved to No. 9 on Liberty’s all-time scoring with 1,573 career points, passing Willard Deshazor.
- Kyle Rode recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
- Keegan McDowell tied his career-high in rebounds (8) to go along with 17 points.
- Liberty shot 58 percent for the game while limiting EKU to 42 percent.
- Liberty recorded 22 assists off 30 made field goals.
- Liberty’s starting five all scored double figures.
Postgame: Ritchie McKay
“This was a really hard-fought game. Typically, our guys are not going to give up 54 points in a half but the game dictated that, simply because of the way they (EKU) play and how many threes they get up and when they make them they are really good because they can set up their press. I’m not making excuses; this is the fifth game in 10 days. I knew it was going to be hard so I am happy with the effort.”
Up Next
Liberty will return home to start the week at home against Lipscomb on Tuesday at Liberty Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
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