Liberty (8-5) got 41 points from Darius McGhee but it wasn’t enough to overcome the hot-shooting Stanford Cardinal (8-4), as the Flames fell, 79-76. It was the first semifinal of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“It was a really hard-fought game,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “I’m really proud of our guys. I thought that was a highly intense, NCAA Tournament like game with the level of physicality and the way the two teams battled each other. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have enough tonight, but it still feels like our guys are getting better. We will have another opportunity on Christmas.”

The Flames led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the Cardinal wouldn’t go away without a fight. Stanford finished the final 3:31 of the half on an 18-6 run, highlighted by a half-court buzzer-beating three pointer to tie the game at 36 going into the locker room.

It was a back and forth affair for much of the second half, until Stanford utilized a 7-0 run to take control with a 67-59 lead with five minutes left in the game. The Flames wouldn’t go down easy, going on a 9-1 run to get as close as one point in the waning seconds.

With the loss, Liberty now moves into the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic on Christmas Day. The Flames will face the loser of Vanderbilt-BYU on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2.

Here are our three main takeaways from today’s game:

DARIUS MCGHEE WITH A CAREER NIGHT

What a night for Liberty senior guard Darius McGhee. He scored a career-high 41 points while shooting 13 of 28 from the field, 7 of 15 from three and making all 8 of his free throw attempts. No other Liberty player scored more than six points in the game.

“Darius could care less about how many points he scores,” McKay said of his star guard. “We’re not about that life. He wants to win the game. You guys have seen it for four years now. He’s a special player. He’s got a unique ability that God has blessed him with. To have that ability and the humility in which he operates has accelerated the growth of our program.”

His 41 points ties the program’s Division I record for points in a game as Matt Hildebrand also scored 41 against Charleston Southern on Feb. 19, 1994. McGhee is now one of only eight Liberty players to ever reach the 40 point plateau, joining Bailey Alston (who scored 40+ three times), Ed Vickers, Karl Hess, Matt Hildebrand, Alex McLean, Larry Blair, and Ed Vickers.

“What he does for our team and has done for our program is special,” McKay continued. “Great, he got 41, but he’s never about the numbers, that’s what I love about him. I told you this last year, he could get 50. He really could, but he will do whatever it takes to win.”

McGhee now has 1,330 points in his Liberty career. He passed Scottie James for 17th place on the Flames’ career scoring list.

“I had no idea how points I had,” McGhee said after the game. “Whenever there’s time on the clock, all of us, we are going to lay it on the line for one another. At the end of the game, as long as we have time on the clock, we are going to fight it out all the way to the end. It was just a matter of trying to make plays and do what we can to bring out the dub. We just came up a little short.”

STANFORD’S HOT SHOOTING TOO MUCH TO OVERCOME

The Cardinal finished the game with a season-high 12 made three-pointers. They connected on 60% of their three-point attempts, also a season-high. Even after their performance against Liberty Thursday, Stanford is shooting only 34.8% from three this season.

Their 18-6 run to close the first half, highlighted by a half-court buzzer-beating three pointer to tie the game at 36 going into the locker room, was the difference maker in the game. The Flames were controlling the game and had all the momentum prior to that point.

“It definitely was a momentum boost, especially with them cutting the lead down and then having a big time shot at the end of the half,” said McGhee. “It just carries momentum into the locker room, and you can just build on that when you come out. At that point, the scoreboard is reset, it’s 0-0. The least important score is the halftime score, but at that point it’s who can come out and impose their will on the other and dominate the second half.”

LIBERTY WILL LOOK TO FINISH HAWAII TRIP 2-1

After splitting their first two games in Hawaii, Liberty will have a chance to pick up another signature win on Christmas Day when the Flames play either Vanderbilt or BYU on ESPN2.

“This day off is probably not going to be a typical day off,” McGhee said. “I can guarantee you everybody in that locker room is thinking of how they can continue to get better and how they would do differently on the mistakes they made tonight. We’re probably going to prepare, it won’t be a day off, we won’t go to the beach. Guys will be locking in and just preparing for this next game and make sure we get back to who we are.”