Liberty saw it’s 10-game ASUN Tournament win streak come to an end on Saturday night, falling to Bellarmine, 53-50, in the conference semifinals. With the loss, the Flames fall to 22-13. Here’s everything Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay and players Darius McGhee and Isiah Warfield had to say following the loss:

OPENING STATEMENT

“That was a tough one. Really thought Bellarmine played a heck of a game and deserved to win, but I love this group. Our guys are unbelievable individuals, unbelievable workers, selfless in nature. No better example of that than (Darius McGhee). I’m disappointed that we don’t get to go back to the NCAA Tournament, but proud of our group and their effort tonight and this season.

McGHEE ON HIS FINAL SHOT

“Just trying to make a play. They did a great job of contesting the shot.”

McGHEE ON IF HE THOUGHT HE GOT FOULED ON THE EARLIER SHOT

“I honestly can’t remember.”

McGHEE ON HIS LIBERTY CAREER

“It went by fast. I wouldn’t have want to be any other place. I feel like I definitely made the right decision coming out of high school. The fan base has grown and it has been tremendous especially down here the last couple of games. That’s the loudest Arena we’ve had since I’ve been here. To have that many fans, we didn’t think it was going to be our last game, but to see that many fans it’s definitely great to see all that love and support.”

WARFIELD ON HIS DEFENSE IN THE GAME

“We just did what we do every day. The things we do, we practice. It was some adjustments we made on the fly. We just want to fight to contest and play our best. We just did what we do.”

WARFIELD ON IF THIS ADDS FUEL FOR NEXT SEASON

“The goal is always to win. I know the group we have, we’re going to come in working. I know we get a couple days off. I don’t know if we will take those days. We have a hungry group.”

McGHEE ON HIS CURRENT EMOTIONS

“Not at all (able to put it into words).”

McKAY ON HIS MESSAGE TO THE TEAM

“Just thank Darius and Keegan for what they’ve done in our program. I think they’ve left a legacy of what we want Liberty student athlete to look like. I’m really proud of them. We have been invited to two different tournaments. We are going to decide if we are going to continue to play. That will be a group decision. Again, we will see.”

McKAY ON THE TEAM’S RESPONSE IN FIRST HALF

“We got down early and I thought our guys responded like they always do. The margin for error when you get to this juncture of the season is very small. I like our team. Congratulatory about the job that the Bellarmine players and coaches did. They did a great job.”

McKAY ON THE TEAM’S STRUGGLES FROM 3

“I think they played good D. A lot of our shots were contested. I will have to watch the film before I comment further.”

McKAY ON THE LOW SCORING TOURNAMENT GAMES

“I think it was Bellarmine’s intent, not sure about Lipscomb. The other teams that we played wanted a fast pace. We don’t ever talk about slow it down, milk the clock. We don’t. Never. When our defense is right, and it’s been right the past couple of games, it takes a bunch of time to do that.”

McKAY ON WHAT DARIUS HAS MEANT TO THE PROGRAM

“Hard to put into words. I think when the final chapter is over I will probably sit back and evaluate a little bit and be able to speak to it a little bit more. He is such a fabulous person. I think his humility is infectious. When you get the attention and/or the notoriety that Darius had and you still care more about winning and your teammates and giving them credit, I think you’ve got something that the world can benefit from.”

McKAY ON THE YOUNGER PLAYERS GETTING IMPORTANT MINUTES FOR THE FUTURE

“I think any time you get experience, especially in our defensive system, they are getting better annually. I expect some growth there, but I think we have a developmental program. At least, I think if you looked at some of the previous players, they kept getting better over the years. We have the right people. It’s hard to win championships. You are not always going to win just because you play at home or just because you have the player of the year, or just because you have this analytic number or that analytic. The thing I love about this group is there is a lot of disappointment in the locker room because we didn’t go back to the Tournament. I think when you have that in your program, you have a standard that we are pursuant of on a regular basis. For that, I am excited about our group and our future.”

McGHEE ON THE FUTURE OF LIBERTY BASKETBALL

“The sky is the limit. They can reach to any goal they set out. They’ve got a bunch of talent. They are super unselfish. The camaraderie off the court is unbelievable, guys are always doing things. That adds a lot of value to the chemistry. They will be fine.”