The Flames open the season with a win over Division III Cairn, 81-53. Here’s our rapid reactions:

  1. Coach McKays squad is so much more deeper this year than they were a season ago. Last season, the Flames were going 7 or 8 deep routinely. In the season opener against Cairn, 13 guys saw playing action and 10 played 10+ minutes. 11 different Flames got on the scoreboard, and 6 different guys made a 3-pointer.
  2. The improvement this team has made in one year is remarkable. Remeber last season’s opener against Covenant? It took last second free throws to win the game. The game tonight was never really in jeopardy. If it wasn’t for Cairn’s Zachary Dolton, the score would have been much more lopsided. Dolton finished the game with 29 points, he had 19 in the first half.
  3. John Dawson is good. Not much else to say. The senior captain finished the game with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
  4. True freshman Brock Gardner showed his potential. He knocked down a 3 pointer. He rebounded. He was able to handle the ball well in the open court. He defended much smaller and quicker guards and held his own doing so. Gardner finished the game with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. He made his collegiate debut on his birthday.
  5. Ball movement, ball movement, ball movement. Liberty moved the ball very well. Even with 7 newcomers, the guys looked comfortable with one another on the court for the season’s first game. The Flames finished the game with 21 assists.
  6. Pacheco-Ortiz and Ray Chen will be solid contributors at guard. They both looked very poised on the court. Pacheco finished with 5 points and 2 assists while playing 23 minutes. Chen had 14 points in 23 points. The other new guard, Xzavier Barmore, didn’t get any playing time. When asked afterward if the plan was to redshirt Barmore, McKay said it’s too early to tell for sure.
  7. Myo Baxter-Bell is very skilled for a post player. Sure, he’s undersized at 6’5″, but he’s got great lateral quickness, and he’s a terrific passer from the low blocks.
  8. It looks like Caleb Homesley grew a couple inches during the summer. He is so long. He struggled shooting the ball, but finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds.
  9. Josiah Talbert got some good minutes. Both McKay and Dawson praised the true freshman big man in the post game interview session. Talbert didn’t get any playing time in the first half, but played 10 of the final 20 minutes, finishing with 4 points and 3 rebounds.
  10. The competition level increases greatly on Tuesday, as Liberty plays host to VCU. The Rams opened their season with a 80-65 win over UNC-Asheville. You may recall the Rams beat the Flames 85-57 in Richmond last December.

Notable quotes:
Coach McKay – “I think you can look at the box score and see one major difference (compared to last year) and that’s depth. We’ve got a lot of guys that can play, and although young and still inexperienced, I felt like we have some options.”

Coach McKay – “All of our post guys can score the basketball, a little more mobile, and defensively I think we are a little bit better on ball-screen defense. Yes, that’s a positive and it’s intentional. Once we get it right, it will look good. We didn’t get it right enough tonight, but I do like the direction we’re going.”

Brock Gardner –  “Everyone on our team can shoot. We did lose Evan (Maxwell), but having Myo, he’s put on some muscle, and he’s been going to work lately. I’m really proud of the job he’s doing. It just allows us to get the ball to the post, and kick it out. We’ve got some guys on the outside that can shoot too.”

Myo Baxter-Bell – “Practice is hard, but in practice you can’t really simulate the games. The games are a lot more up and down. So, I think it was great that we got to get our younger guys in. I haven’t played (at Liberty) yet so it was great to get a lot of minutes.”

John Dawson – “We’re together all the time. We live in the same spot. We live on the same hall. We’re with each other 24/7. Once you’re with a guy, it’s like you know him like the back of your hand. It’s like you’re hanging out with your brother. You know what he likes, you know where he likes the ball, you know if he will shoot it or not. It builds faith and confidence in one another when we have a relationship outside of basketball.”