Photo by: Liberty Athletics.
The Liberty Flames men’s basketball team defeated Louisiana Tech in a blowout 77-53 win Feb. 6 in front of a lively crowd at Liberty Arena. The Bulldogs entered Thursday’s game with a three-game win streak and a 5-4 conference record, but a stifling Liberty defense would add one more loss to that figure as the unit forced 16 turnovers and scored 24 points off those turnovers to give the Flames their second consecutive win at home.
“I thought we were hard to play tonight,” Flames Head Coach Ritchie McKay said postgame. “Against a team that is as good as Louisiana Tech, (guys playing well) is a necessity. I hope our fans know how good of an opponent is coming into Liberty Arena to play. Having lost in Ruston, (LA) 32 days ago, I think we keep improving even though sometimes it may not show in (our) record.”
The Flames got to work down low as they hit three two-point shots in the game’s opening four minutes. All three baskets were tallied by junior forward Zach Cleveland, who finished the day with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Liberty’s defense also came out aggressive as they held the Bulldogs to just 11 points midway through the first quarter. Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year senior forward Daniel Batcho came into the game scoring 18.8 points per game; but the Flames’ defense held him to just eight points in the first half.
“(Batcho) had his way with us a couple times,” McKay said. “He has done that to a lot of teams because he is such a good player. I thought (Owen Aquino) did a good job on him, and everyone that was in the game with Owen had a good sense of where Batcho was because you have to.”
The Flames excelled in playing complementary basketball, with both the offense and defense delivering impressive performances. Liberty shot an efficient 50.0% from the field and 52.2% from three-point range, while also stifling the Bulldogs, limiting them to 39.2% shooting overall and just 23.1% from beyond the arc.
The bright spots for the Bulldogs were junior guard Al Green and junior forward Sean Elkinton, who combined for 29 of the team’s 53 points.
The Flames had three of their five starters end the evening with double digits in the point column. Cleveland, junior guard Colin Porter and redshirt senior guard Jayvon Maughmer ended with 14, 15 and 11 points, respectively, for a total of 40 points. Cleveland led the team with seven rebounds and five assists.
After controlling the game through four quarters, Liberty celebrated their 77-53 victory, their first game of a two-game stint at home. Their next contest will come against the Sam Houston State Bearkats, who sit in dead last among the CUSA rankings.
“(We) need to keep playing our game,” Cleaveland said. “(Don’t let what we do on the offensive end dictate what we do on defense. Our defense has been really helpful for us, and it has led to what we are able to do on the (other end of the floor).”
The matchup with the CUSA’s worst couldn’t come at a better time for the Flames, who have improved to 6-4 in conference play after some early struggles. They rank second in the conference behind Jacksonville State, hoping to gain ground in the final stretch of conference play.
Liberty will tip off with Sam Houston State Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. in Liberty Arena with the game streaming on ESPN+.
