Liberty (16-10, 5-6) was unable to complete the comeback, falling to Sam Houston (15-11, 8-3), 83-73, on Saturday night in Huntsville, Texas.
The Bearkats jumped out to an early 18-2 lead and maintained the comfortable margin for much of the game. The Flames utilized an 18-1 run late in the 2nd half, attempting to make a comeback, but could not get any closer than 7 points.
Kaden Metheny led the team with 19 points while Brody Peebles added 17. Kyle Rode chipped in 15 and Zach Cleveland added 10. The Flames outscored the home team, 46-33 in the second half, and finished the game shooting 41% from the field and 34% from three.
The Flames will conclude its brief two-game road swing on Thursday in Miami, Florida against the FIU Panthers. It will be the second game in the season series between the two schools with Liberty defeating FIU, 78-69, at Liberty Arena on Feb. 18 for the Flames’ first ever win in CUSA play. FIU is currently 8-18 overall and 3-8 in CUSA play, having dropped three straight and seven out of eight.
FLAMES WIN STREAK COMES TO AN END
Liberty had won three straight, beginning with its first road win in conference play at UTEP and followed up with home triumphs over Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. It had the Flames feeling confident and like it could make a push to join the top group of teams in the CUSA standings.
That will not be the case right now as the top three of Sam Houston, La Tech, and Western Kentucky appear to be putting some separation between themselves and the rest of the conference. Meanwhile, Liberty continues its struggles away from home, falling to 1-5 away from home in conference play with another road test coming up on Thursday at FIU.
LU UNABLE TO OVERCOME COLD START
The Flames began the game with a missed layup, a travel, a missed three pointer from an open Kaden Metheny, and a turnover. That would be a microcosm of the struggles the team would face on the evening. Sam Houston quickly raced out to an 18-2 lead just about 5 minutes into the contest and would not look back.
The lead would stay in the 16-22 point range for much of the contest, with Sam Houston pushing it to its largest lead at 25 about midway through the second half. The Flames would come storming back, on the heels of an 18-1 run, cutting the lead to seven with 3:47 to play. The Bearkats would hold off the late rally though to secure the win.
WILKERSON LIKES PLAYING LIBERTY
6’4″ guard Lamar Wilkerson must like playing against the Flames. In the first contest in Lynchburg, Wilkerson scored 23 points on 10 of 13 shooting from two-point range. On Saturday night in Huntsville, Wilkerson added 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting from two point range.
Wilkerson was limited to just 24 points on the night as he fought through foul trouble, picking up two quick personals in the first half and finishing the contest with four. When he was on the floor, he was able to get into the paint, attack the basket, and make scoring plays for the Bearkats. When he went to the bench, many times Sam Houston would struggle to score, going through prolonged scoring droughts. Once he returned to the floor, Sam Houston would go back to Wilkerson and he would end the scoring drought.
