Liberty opened up the 2022-23 men’s basketball season with a 104-38 win over Regent on Monday night. It was a simple tune-up for the team’s season as the Flames hope to win a fourth ASUN title in five years. The Flames defeated Regent, 85-24, last year in the season opener.

The Regent Royals, an NCCAA member, kept things within striking distance during the first 10 minutes or so of the game. That was before Liberty went on a 30-3 run over the final 12:17 of the opening half, including a 24-0 run to close the half. Liberty went into the locker room at halftime with a 55-17 lead, coasting to a win in their season opener.

Darius McGhee led the team with 17 points while making 5 of 8 threes. The super senior was one of five Flames to reach double figures. He was joined by Brody Peebles with 17, Blake Preston with 16, Joseph Venzant with 11 (on 5/5 from shooting and 7 rebounds), and Zach Cleveland with 11..

MCKAY WINS 200TH GAME AT LIBERTY

Coach McKay picked up his 200th career win at Liberty in the season opener. He improved to 200-104 overall with the Flames, the first game of his 10th season at Liberty. He becomes the second coach in school history to win 200 games, joining Jeff Meyer who owns a 259-205 record at Liberty. The Flames also improved to 10-0 in home openers under McKay.

“When I’m done coaching maybe I’ll look back on the number of outcomes that went our way,” McKay said. “When you are in the midst of the season you are really looking for improvement. I think for us, the barometer is how hard we play, how selfless we are, and, honestly, how much they are enjoying it.”

FLAMES HAVE FOUND THEIR POINT GUARD

Perhaps last season’s biggest weakness was head coach Ritchie McKay not having a true point guard to rely on. Liberty utilized Darius McGhee and Kyle Rode in primary ball-handling duties last season, taking away from their best uses.

It’s only one game and it was against a non-Division I opponent, but true freshman Colin Porter showed that he can provide something the team hasn’t had in a long time. He finished the game with 5 points, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 2 rebounds. Not a bad debut.

“He’s a really good player,” McKay said of the freshman. “He’s done that in our exhibition games. I haven’t played Darius, Colin, Kyle, or Shiloh, Blake, we haven’t logged a lot of minutes with our top 7 or 8 just because we want to see if we could get everybody ready as quickly as possible. I think that’s what this early part of the season is about, at least these first couple of weeks.”

COMPETITION PICKS UP FRIDAY

It was a good opener for the Flames, but we won’t learn much about this team from the win. That will begin to change on Friday when Liberty heads to Alabama to take on the No.20 nationally ranked Crimson Tide. They opened their season Monday night against Longwood, with tip off not coming until 8:30 p.m.

“I will be able to tell you a little bit more after Friday because we’re going to see athleticism and a team that plays incredibly hard,” McKay stated. “Nate Oats has done a phenomenal job at Alabama and has a really good team.”

MCKAY POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE