What you missed over break
TOUGH AS DYMOND — Dymond Morgan and the Lady Flames defense helped secure a win over a battling Lady Buccaneer team. Morgan had five steals in 23 minutes.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball team won five out of the six games they played over winter break. The Lady Flames played the Presbyterian College Lady Blue Hose Jan. 8 in a conference game. With help from sophomore Devon Brown’s 13 points, the Lady Flames beat the Lady Blue Hose 51-40. Less than 24 hours later, the Lady Flames defeated the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs 61-44. Starting the second half of their game against the Lady Bulldogs, the Lady Flames trailed by two points but their defense won the game by holding UNC-Asheville to only 15 second-half points. Earlier in the season, the Flames defeated High Point 68-60 Jan. 3, constituting three Big South Conference game wins over winter break. The Lady Flames are now 3-1 in conference play.
Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball team won six out of its seven games over Christmas break. Their 61-53 success over the Radford Highlanders Jan. 15, landed them at 7-1 for the Big South Conference games. Liberty freshman guard John Caleb Sanders scored a career-high 16 points against Coastal Carolina in a slugfest with the Chanticleers Jan. 8 that resulted in a 70-67 loss. Four of his shots were from 3-point range. Following his performance, Sanders was named the Crons Brand Freshman of the Week.
Men’s Hockey
Men’s hockey was also successful over winter break. The team played at Stony Brook University Jan. 8 and 9. The Jan. 8 game was a 6-1 success for the Flames. Junior Mackenzie Bauman started the game off with Liberty’s first goal. Senior Jonathan Chung and sophomore Brent Boschman scored twice while sophomore Greg Jensen had one goal and one assist to Boschman. Liberty held Stony Brook off at no goals until the very end of the third period. The Jan. 9 game was a narrow 2-3 loss.
Wrestling
Liberty’s wrestling team attended the Southern Scuffle hosted by UNC-Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum Dec. 29 and 30. After the first day, the Flames placed 24th of 32 teams with 19.5 team points. Senior Chad Porter, 165 pounds, claimed the first win of the day for the Flames defeating Campbell’s Ryan Ham. Porter and Junior Scott Clymer, 149 pounds, advanced to day two of the competition, looking to score additional points for Liberty. Freshman Kurtis Becker, 141 pounds, also advanced to day two. On the second day of competition, Clymer was the only Liberty competitor to win his first bout of the day before losing his second bout. Liberty placed 27th at the end of the tournament.