Men’s Basketball Three-Peats, Cruises Past Bellarmine in ASUN Conference Final

Somehow, Darius McGhee seemed to know that Saturday was his day. Twenty seconds into the regular season decider against Bellarmine, he looked up, a defender in his face – and arced home a sizzling 3-pointer. He didn’t stop scoring for the rest of the game. 

By the time he had soared through the air and smashed in a breakaway dunk with 43 seconds left in the game, he had a personal best of 34 points – the most points in a game by a Liberty player since Kyle Ohman’s 39-point game in 2010 – and Liberty had a third-straight regular season title locked in. 

McGhee’s explosive game headlined a brutally efficient Liberty (11-2 in ASUN) performance against ASUN newcomers Bellarmine University (10-3 in ASUN). The 94-78 win at Bellarmine’s home court clinched the Flames first outright ASUN regular season title, extinguishing the Knights upset bid. For McGhee, sealing the title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ASUN tournament was the culmination of a long and hard season. 

“It felt great,” McGhee said. “It was a great game. I think everyone did exactly what they needed to do in fulfilling their role, and that led us to the
victory tonight.” 

Following up on two stellar seasons where seniors like Lovell Cabbil, Scottie James and Caleb Homesley led the Flames to consecutive ASUN tournament championships, Liberty’s 2020-21 basketball season was slated to be one of transition. But with five Liberty players scoring in double figures Saturday and McGhee in red-hot form as the tournament approaches (this was his fourth 20-point game in a row), Coach Ritchie McKay believes games like Saturday’s highlight how strong his roster is this year.   

“When you lose the likes of Caleb (Homesley) and Scottie (James) and Georgie (Pacheco-Ortiz) and Myo (Baxter-Bell), you not only lose their numbers – you lose their person. That’s a huge blow to absorb,” McKay said. “You really have to give a lot of credit to Elijah Cuffee, Keegan McDowell, Kyle Rode, Blake Preston, Shiloh Robinson, Darius McGhee – those guys that returned – they felt like we were going to continue to earn and pursue being a part of something bigger than ourselves. … I think we’re in a healthy place.” 

Undefeated since an away loss to Stetson University Jan. 15, the Flames came into Saturday’s matchup chomping at the bit to defend their title – but the first order of business was actually playing the game. Originally slated to be a doubleheader at the Liberty Arena, the series was moved to Bellarmine due to ASUN scheduling issues before it was shortened to one game due to a scheduling conflict at Louisville’s Freedom Hall. 

It was an all-or-nothing matchup, and Liberty’s big-game experience showed right from tipoff. While McGhee had a night to remember, the Flames as a team shot a staggering 21-for-29 from the field in the first half, sinking 66.7% of their shots from outside the arc – and the Knights just couldn’t keep up. 

Sophomore Shiloh Robinson put up 11 points and eight rebounds throughout the game, operating in a crucial role in the paint for the Flames on a night when 45 of Liberty’s 94 points came from deep. 

“We played really well on offense,” Robinson said. “Our coaches did a really good job of preparing us, and we were able to execute our game plan.”

However, though Liberty held the lead essentially from tipoff, Bellarmine’s aggressive offensive strategy had often shocked the ASUN this year, and it provided the Knights with a couple momentum swings in the second half after a largely one-sided first. The DI newcomers were projected by preseason polling to finish bottom of the ASUN, but they ultimately only suffered losses to Liberty and last season’s tournament runners-up Lipscomb, finishing second in the regular season. 

Liberty held a 20-point lead at one point in the second half, but a furious comeback by the Knights, spearheaded by guard C.J. Fleming’s 14 second-half points, cut that lead to seven as the game drew to a close. The Flames would not be denied, however, holding firm on defense until McGhee’s dunk hammered the final nail in the coffin for Bellarmine. 

After laying the dunk on a plate for McGhee with a lobbed pass after Fleming’s shot bounced off the rim, sophomore Kyle Rode highlighted the importance of Liberty’s defense in those final minutes. 

“I told Darius McGhee, after that play he owes me dinner,” Rode joked in the press conference after the game. “We needed a stop, we tried to get stops all game. They’re a great offensive team, so it makes it difficult to put consecutive stops together, so when we did that to end the game, I felt really good about it.” 

Liberty’s 94 points was also a school record against an ASUN opponent, further underlining the groove this Liberty squad is in moving into the tournament that begins March 4. Saturday’s win cemented Liberty’s place as the No. 1 seed in the tournament, meaning the Flames will play the No. 8 seed Kennesaw State in Jacksonville. 

Saturday’s victory means that McKay has won three of Liberty’s five regular season titles, but for McKay, his attention is now moving to the upcoming tournament and a potential March Madness berth at the end of it. 

“This is a championship that we wanted – absolutely. But there’s another one that we want just as bad, if not more,” McKay said. “The prep for that starts here on Monday.”

John Nekrasov is the Sports Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @john_nekrasov.