Liberty completed a weekend sweep over Jacksonville to move into first place in the ASUN, defeating the Dolphins 64-58 on Saturday.
Liberty improves to 14-5 and 6-2 in the ASUN, while Jacksonville drops to 9-9 and 3-5 in conference.
The Flames put an exclamation point on a sluggish first half as Darius McGhee hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, sending Liberty into halftime with a 28-19 lead over the Dolphins.
Jacksonville started the half on a 7-0 run, but Liberty was able to regroup and respond with a 9-0 run, taking a 10-point lead (39-29) with 14 minutes left in the game.
McGhee got hot late in the game, scoring eight straight points, on his way to a 16-point second half.
Jacksonville got close late, cutting Liberty’s lead to three points (60-57) with 43 seconds left in the game, but Liberty’s clutch shooting from the free-throw line proved to be the difference maker at the end of the game.
“I am pleased that we got two on the road,” Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said. “Jacksonville is a hard-playing team, like most of our league is. You look around the country, it is hard to win on the road, especially in these back-to-backs. I am proud of our group, I think we were 13-52 from three this week and that is a complete aberration. I watch this team everyday in practice and we are a better shooting team. To win two games on the road when you shoot like that, I think that is growth.”
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