The Liberty Flames (11-5, 3-2) returned to DeLand, Florida for the first time since last year’s loss to the Stetson Hatters (4-5, 2-1) and it was another difficult night for Ritchie McKay’s squad, who fell, 65-59.
Stetson was short-handed in the paint as all three scholarship post players were out of action Friday night. Sophomore Mahamadou Diawara missed the game with a concussion. He may be available for Saturday’s game. Joel Kabimba is currently taking a leave of absence of the team, and Gabriel Wuor is out with a broken hand.
The Flames took advantage by attacking the basket and getting in the paint early and often. Liberty had 22 first half points in the paint, led by Blake Preston who scored 8 points on 4 of 6 shooting in the first half despite playing only 9 minutes in the opening stanza.
Liberty would lead most of the way in the first half, pushing its lead to as much as nine at 29-20, before going into the halftime break with a 31-25 lead. Chris Parker added 7 first half points but did not have any assists.
The Flames had several turnovers which led to transition points for the Hatters as they looked to remain in the game, cutting Liberty’s lead to just two points in the opening minutes of the second half. Stetson would utilize a 12-2 run to grab the lead with 10 minutes left in the game. It was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The lead would grow to 8, Stetson’s largest of the game, at 58-50 with 3:25 left in the game. Liberty wouldn’t go away easily though, as two Parker buckets in the paint cut the lead to 4 with 2:16 to play. The Flames would get two more stops on defense on the next two Stetson possessions, but Liberty couldn’t cut into the lead any more. Parker would miss a jumper at the free throw line followed by a missed McGhee three.
The Hatters dominated the Flames in fast break points, 17-2, as they turned 14 Liberty turnovers into 16 points. The Flames were just 5 of 19 from three on the evening as Darius McGhee was just 3 of 10 from the floor and 1 of 6 from three. He finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds.
Chris Parker finished with a season high 18 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Elijah Cuffee added 12 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds and Blake Preston finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds on 5 of 8 shooting.
These two teams will square off once again on Saturday at 5 p.m. from DeLand, Florida as the Flames will look to get back in the win column.
