The Jeremy Knight Experience

[WarEagle22]

Flames Handle Riverside for Knight’s First Win

LYNCHBURG | The Liberty Flames made plays when it needed to while picking up its first win of the season with a 79-70 victory over California-Riverside (2-1). The win is also the first in Flames coach Jeremy Knight’s career.

“It’s just amazing.” Knight said when asked to describe the feeling of his first victory. “It’s so great to finally get a win after playing so hard and coming up short the last two games.”

Turnover continued to plague to Flames (1-2) as they committed 18 of them. However, this time Liberty forced 16 turnovers while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor.

“The biggest difference between this game and the last is that we were able to force them into turnovers, me made our free throws and finished layups.”

A Tony Marshall putback at the 8:52 mark of the first half gave the Flames a 17-16 lead, their first lead in a game this season. The Flames held on to the lead until Jasper Robertson hit a three to give Riverside a 49-48 lead. Clement Angner answered on the following possession with a three of his own, to give Liberty a 51-49 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game.

“It was nice to come out and execute our game plan.” Knight said. “We actually lead the majority of the game which is a testament to all of these guys. It seemed like we would have several stretches where a different player would step up and make a play. It was a total team effort tonight.”

Derek Beck led Liberty with 16 points off 7-of-7 shooting from the field. Chris Blossom continued his solid play of late, chipping in 11 points and three rebounds. Dwayne Carr finished with 10 points and six rebounds, three of which were offensive. Angner, Tyler McColpin, and Ben Griffin each scored eight points. Griffin also recorded seven rebounds. McColpin had the most complete game for the Flames with five assists and five steals to go along with his eight points.

“I don’t want to single one guy out because everyone stepped up and did their job tonight, but Tyler really did do a lot of great things for us tonight. He scored a few points, made some big steals, and when he did make mistakes he did a good job of moving on to the next play instead of letting his mistakes get to him. He also did a good job of making his free throws down the stretch to seal the win. The whole team did a good job of that.”

“This was a great game for us. We’re taking steps in the right direction.”

Liberty will hit the road for its next game and try to use its first win as a springboard to more success when they play Monmouth (1-2) on November 26th.

[WarEagle22]

Flames Comeback Falls Short

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. | A furious comeback attempt in the second half fell just short of a victory as the Liberty Flames lost to host Monmouth, 74-66. The Flames (1-3) were faced with a 19-point deficit at the half, scrapped their way back into the game throughout the second half.

“I thought we did a good job of playing hard and never giving up,” Liberty coach Jeremy Knight said, “but we just can’t put ourselves in a position where we’re constantly having to fight back down 10, 15, or 20.”

Forward Lee Ray hit a 14-foot jumper with 4:35 left in the game to cut the Hawks lead to 62-58. On the ensuing possession Damian Keith stole a pass, but ultimately could not get control of the ball as he dribbled the ball out of bounds for the under 4:00 media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Monmouth big man Eikki Tuulari nailed a 17-foot jumped and Tyler Lyles stole the following inbound pass to set up Samuel Drayton for a dunk that pushed the Hawks lead to 66-58 with 3:39 left.

“We did a good job cutting the lead down to four. When you dig yourself into a deep hole like we did, your margin for error is slim to nonexistent and we ended up making a carless error that really killed any momentum we had at a comeback.”

A Chris Blossom dunk with 58 seconds left in the game cut the lead to four once again, 68-64, but Monmouth hit all of its free throws down the stretch the ice the game for the Hawks.

Turnovers were once again an issue for the Flames with 18 for the game. Guards Clement Angner and Tyler McColpin each had four turnovers and Dwayne Carr had five.

“Our guards definitely have to do a much better job taking care of the basketball. It’s been something we’ve struggled with in every game. I believe we’re either last or second-to-last in the conference in turnovers per game. If we can cut down our turnovers it will help immensely in the outcomes of these close games.”

Liberty also shot 35.4 percent from the floor in the first half. The Flames were able to score 21 second chance points in the second half to up their shooting percentage to 47.3 for the game.

“Our shots weren’t really falling at all in the first half, especially compared to the 65.4 percent they shot in the opening half. In the second half we really didn’t shoot much better from our initial shot attempts, guys were just hustling and fighting for offensive rebounds and that’s how we scored most of our points to get us back into the game.”

Ben Griffin finished the game as the leading scorer for Liberty with 15 points and seven rebounds. Four of Griffin’s rebounds were offensive rebounds. Blossom chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Carr scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Monmouth’s Tuulari tortured the Flames defense for 23 points and seven rebounds.

“We lost the game tonight, but we never stopped playing hard. I’ll take a team that never gives up and plays hard any day of the week. As long as we continue to play hard and correct some mistakes here and there, the wins will start coming.”

Liberty will now prepare for a cross country trip to play the Cal State-Northridge Matadors (2-2) on November 20th.

[WarEagle22]

Blossom’s Big Night Powers Flames To Win

NORTHRIDGE, CALIF. | Chris Blossom scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds in just 25 minutes to propel the Liberty Flames to a 90-81 road victory against the Cal State-Northridge Matadors.

“Chris was just incredible tonight.” Liberty coach Jeremy Knight said after the game. “I told him in the locker room that this will be a night he’ll remember forever. I just want there to be many more night like this for him to remember with it.”

Fueled by Blossom’s career night the Flames (2-3) jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and never let up throughout the game. During the under 12:00 media timeout Liberty led the Matadors 20-9.

“Everything was just clicking tonight.” Knight said. “Our shots were falling. They struggled to make shots and when they missed we made sure we got the rebound to end their possession.’

The Flames destroyed the Matadors on the boards 36-17. Liberty once again committed a plethora of turnovers, 21, but everything else was going in the Flames favor.

“I don’t want to dismiss the turnovers, but when you outrebound your opponent by 20 and shoot 62 percent from the floor you can overcome those mistakes.”

Blossom and Derek Carr both converted and-one attempts to give the Flames a 43-28 lead that they would carry into the half. Liberty had to withstand a Cal State-Northridge comeback that cut the Flames lead to four, 70-66.

The Flames responded with a Russell Sneed steal that turned into a Tony Marshall dunk on the other end to give Liberty a six point lead with 5:53 left in the game.

When the lead was once again cut to four, 83-79, it was Blossom who stepped up with monstrous dunk followed by a steal that led to him being fouled and shooting two to seal the game.

“Tonight was just a special night. Our guys continued to play hard, like they have in every game so far, and tonight we were able to play some solid defense and took good shots on offense. We still have to get better, but tonight we proved even when we turn the ball over we can overcome those setbacks by playing hard and smart on both ends of the floor.

Tyler McColpin finish with 11 points, including four points off of free throws down the stretch. Ben Griffin scored nine points and Carr added seven points and nine rebounds.

The Flames now must prepare for a quick turnaround for a game on the opposite coast against Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-4) on December 3rd.

[WarEagle22]

NOVEMBER ROUNDUP

Liberty Flames (2-3)

TEAM STATS
PPG.....1st.....74.2
APG.....10th...10.2
RPG.....2nd....31.4
BPG.....4th.....2.2
SPG.....8th.....6.2
FG%....1st.....54.0%
3%......7th.....37.5%
FT%....10th....67.9%
TO.......9th.....19.2

TOP PERFORMERS
Chris Blossom........15.6 ppg...(5th in Big South)
Dwayen Carr...........6.6 rpg
Tyler McColpin........2.4 apg
Tyler McColpin........1.4 spg
Brett Herbert.........1.7 A/TO
Derek Beck............72.4 FG%...(2nd in Big South)

BIG SOUTH STANDINGS
1.....High Point......................4-1
1.....Winthrop........................4-1
1.....Presbyterian...................4-1
4.....UNC-Asheville.................3-2
4.....Longwood.......................3-2
6.....Gardner-Webb.................2-3
6.....Charleston Southern.........2-3
6.....Campbell.........................2-3
6.....Liberty............................2-3
6.....Coastal Carolina...............2-3
11...Radford...........................1-4

AP TOP 25 POLL
1.....Maryland....................8-0
2.....UCLA.........................6-0
3.....Georgetown................8-0
4.....Duke.........................6-1
5.....Michigan....................6-2
6.....Mississippi State.........7-0
7.....Connecticut...............5-0
8.....Michigan State...........6-2
9.....Pittsburgh.................6-2
10...Florida......................4-2
11...Indiana.....................5-1
12...Gonzaga...................4-0
13...Cincinnati..................5-2
14...Arkansas...................5-1
15...Massachusetts...........6-1
16...Purdue.....................6-0
17...Oklahoma State........5-1
18...St. Bonaventure........6-2
19...Kansas.....................4-2
20...Oregon....................3-3
21...Virginia....................5-2
22...California.................4-2
23...USC.........................5-2
24...LSU.........................5-2
25...Alabama...................4-3

[WarEagle22]

Liberty Flames Weekly Recap

Blossom Receives Another Award
Liberty big man Chris Blossom earned his second Big South Freshman of the Week honor this season after averaging 18 points and 7.5 rebounds. Blossom also scored a career-high 25 points in a road win against the Cal State-Northridge Matadors. Blossom currently leads the Flames in scoring with 15.6 points per game, which is also ranks fifth among all players in the Big South Conference.


Liberty (2-3) at Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-4)
This was a brutal game for the Flames. Four minutes into the game and Liberty already had five turnovers. At the half the Flames trailed 46-18 after shooting 38.9 percent from the field with 14 turnovers compared to UMES’s 58.8 field goal percentage and just two turnovers. Chris Blossom was held in check with just four points and two quick fouls in the first half. Liberty outscored the Hawks 40-27 in the second half, but never seriously threatened to make a run for the lead. The final score was Maryland-Eastern Shore 73, Liberty 58. The final turnover count was 21 for Liberty to 13 for UMES, which helped fuel the Flames second half run. Liberty also finished the evening shooting 53.3 percent from the floor compared to 51.6 percent for the Hawks. Blossom led the team with 18 points and 10 rebounds, his first career double-double and Derek Beck added 17 points off 8-of-10 shooting in just 18 minutes of action.
---IN OTHER BIG SOUTH NEWS---
Later on in the evening after the Flames loss to UMES, fellow Big South member Charleston Southern knocked off Big Ten member Ohio State with a 79-59 victory. Granted, this isn’t the same Ohio State from a decade or two ago, but it still is impressive that the low-major program was able to dominate a high-major member by 20 points. Perhaps voters knew what they were doing when they elected the Buccaneers as the preseason favorite to win the Big South.


Liberty (2-4) at Eastern Illinois (3-2)
Chris Blossom got off to a fast start in this game, drawing a foul while lowering the hammer on the first possession of the game. During the first three minutes of action Blossom scored two points, had two rebounds, and even got a steal to energize a frustrated Flames squad. However, Liberty would not be able to keep the energy up and played a very sluggish first half against the Panthers. Brett Herbert drained a three at the buzzer to send send the Flames into the half with 27-24 lead. Liberty only made eight shots in the first half, but they were aggressive in getting to the rim and drawing fouls on Eastern Illinois. Liberty got to the free throw line 16 times in the first half, but only converted 10 shots. The sluggish but effective play during the first half for the Flames was nowhere to be seen in the second. Liberty only managed to get to the free throw line seven times and only made two of the attempts. A combination of turnovers, fouls, poor shots, and a non-aggressive playing style during the second half doomed the Flames. With 6:47 left in the game Liberty trailed by nine, 46-37, but would never get closer to taking the lead before falling to the final score of Eastern Illinois 70, Liberty 51. For the game Liberty committed 22 turnovers and shot 12-23 (52.2%) from the free throw line. The Flames also shot just 14.3 percent (1-for-7) from beyond the arc. Derek Beck was the leading scorer with 16 points and four rebounds in addition to three turnovers. Blossom scored 12 points with six rebounds before fouling out after playing 21 minutes. Ben Griffin added eight points for Liberty.

Looking Ahead
Liberty (2-5) will continue its long road trip non-conference schedule next week when it heads to New York to play Marist (4-4) on December 14 in its only game next week. Throughout the non-conference schedule the Flames inability to take care of the basketball has really hurt them. Chris Blossom has “blossomed” into a star of sorts for Liberty. The freshman is by far the Flames best player and a huge key to their success. However, his inability to play under control and not foul so often has really hurt him as far as playing time on the court and the team. When Blossom is on the floor the Flames appear to be able to hold their own with the majority of the teams they’ve played this season, even with all of the turnovers. During games when Blossom has stayed out of foul trouble he is capable of dominating the game, like he did against Cal State-Northridge. Clearly the key for the Flames moving forward is keeping Blossom out of foul trouble, and if they can cut down on a turnover or 10, they could potentially make some noise in the Big South as the season progresses.

Make sure to visit the page next week recapping the happenings of Liberty men’s basketball on and off the court. Don’t forget to check out the other weekly recap sections for each member of the Big South Conference. Stay up to date on the happenings of the Big South Conference and its affiliated members throughout the season here at The Big South Scoop.