Liberty (1-1) jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire before defeating Boyce, 113-54 on Saturday afternoon. 3,832 fans were in attendance at Liberty Arena for the team’s home opener, the most in a home opener since 2022-23. The Flames eclipsed the century mark for the first time since scoring 124 in a win over St. Andrews on Dec. 17, 2024.
“I was proud of our group,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “I thought they did a really good job of concentrating and seeing if we couldn’t keep valuing each possession. I think we kind of knew early that we had a little bit of a talent advantage, and our guys, there was maybe one or two dry patches, but for the most part we stayed mentally and physically engaged.”
Boyce is an NCCAA Division II member. Saturday’s game is their first game of the season, though it is being treated by Boyce as an exhibition game. The Flames have played Boyce twice recently. During the 2021-22 season, Liberty got the win 91-60 while the Flames defeated Boyce, 88-46, during the 2023-24 campaign.
Eli Sancomb and Eli Herbert first time Liberty has started two freshmen in the same game since New Year’s Eve 2021 when Joseph Venzant and Brody Peebles started against Boyce. Herbert made his first start in a Liberty uniform while Ryan Jones, Jr. also made the starting lineup for the first time. They were inserted into the starting lineup as Dillon Claussen and Osmar Garcia-Araujo did not play after starting the season opener against High Point. Following the game, McKay said that Garcia-Araujo is week-to-week while Claussen will miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL.
Cooper Campbell knocked down his first three pointer of his Liberty career to open the scoring. The Troy transfer missed all three of his triples in the season opener against High Point. Campbell scored the first five points of the game before Eli Sancomb knocked down a triple, his first in his collegiate career after the freshman missed his first five three-point attempts in the opener. Boyce ended the 12-0 Liberty game-opening run with their first bucket at the 13:58 Mark of the first half. Boyce missed its first eight field goals with five turnovers before getting in the scoring column.
The game allowed Coach McKay and the Flames to work through several different lineup combinations with so many newcomers on this year’s team. Liberty played all 12 players available with 11 of them getting in the scoring column.
Cooper Campbell led the team with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the field and 3 of 4 from three. He scored 8 straight for the Flames at one point early in the second period.
Coming off his 21-point outing in the season opener, Zander Carter put together another solid game. He finished the night with 14 points, making his first five field goal attempts before finishing 6/8 while making two of three from long range. The Liberty sophomore added 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
True freshman Eli Sancomb had another solid performance. He finished his second game for the Flames with 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting and 1 of 2 from three. He filled the box score, adding 9 points and 5 assists.
Cobi Campbell bounced back from a disappointing season opener. The Troy transfer and older brother of Cooper, scored 18 points on 7 of 11 from the floor and 3 of 7 from three.
RJ Jones set a new career high with 11 points while making 3 of 5 from three to go along with 5 rebounds.
Liberty struggled in the season opener from three-point range, connecting on just 5 of 26 from behind the arc. The Flames let it fly early and often against the Bulldogs, as eight different Flames knocked down a three-pointer. The team finished the game 15 of 31 from range, good for 48.4%.
“Well, High Point’s got a lot more talent, experience, length, and athleticism. I think that had a lot to do with it. It’s good to get back in Liberty Arena and have a chance to play in front of our home fans. I think our guys have practiced decently since the High Point game. We didn’t play great against them, so I was pleased that we had a little bit more rhythm tonight.”
The Flames shot 62.2% from the field while holding Boyce to 29.7% from the field. Liberty held a 33-0 edge in fast break points, 58-12 advantage in points in the point and outscored Boyce 27-4 in points off turnovers.
Liberty will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 13 at home from Liberty Arena against North Carolina Central with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Eagles are currently 0-1 on the season after falling to Georgia, 78-62, in their opener this past Monday. They are in the midst of a Virginia trip this week, playing at Longwood on Saturday and at VMI on Wednesday, before coming to Lynchburg on Friday.
