[Sly Fox]

You've heard many of us old hags talking about the incredible shot Freddy Morgan made back in the day at the old Liberty Gym (Schilling, if you will). Here are a couple of pics for thos eof us who were there to remember the shot and for those who weren't to see what all the fuss was about.





I was sitting in the bleachers behind Freddy's back about halfway up. In the postgame celebration shot I see a couple of my roommates form my Sophomore year from Michigan. The guy in the bottom left hand corner with a profile shot of his face pulled a Reverse Super Jon. He transferred down to Coastal Carolina at a time when most of us had never heard of the school.

Here's the writeup they ran in the Selah about the shot:

Freddy Morgan's Miracle

It was Friday, the thirteenth, and the moon was fool. A good night for bad luck. Or a miracle. It wsn't Division I basketball being played in the Liberty gym. It wasn't even a championship game, but you never would have known it by the enthusiasm that filled the arena.

On Friday, February 13, in the Liberty gymnasium. It was the Flames, upsetting Number-Three-ranked Mount St. Mary's on a prayer, 86-83.

The Flames trailed until late in the second half. That's when Fred Morgan went to work. At the 1:54 mark Fred hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 82-80. Following a Mount St. Mary's free throw, Morgan scored ona layup to cut the lead to 1. Only seconds later he scored again on a free throw to tie the game.

Dan Perry pulled a rebound off a missed Mountaineer's 18-footer and called a time-out at the 1-minute mark. The Flames set up their offense in an attempt to take the lead, but Brad Hamersley turned the ball over with 44 seconds to play. The outlook for the Flames was bleak. It looked like the Mountaineers would get the last shot.

Mount St. Mary's, however, rather than running the clock out, took the early shot. Paul Edwrads for the Mountaineers missed a baseline jumper with 20 seconds left on the clock.

Liberty brought the ball down the court and ran the clock down. At the 3-second mark, with a 6' 4" defender leaning over him, 5' 7" Fred Morgan sank a 3-point, fade-away jumper. Morgan never saw the 22-foot shot hit the net. He had tumbled to the floor as the ball left his hands.

The crowd roared in exhultation as the scoreboard clicked to 86-83, Then real bedlam broke out as a desperate Mountaineer bounced a shot off the rim at the buzzer. The bleachers emptied onto the court and jubilant fans raised Morgan to their shoulders, carrying him off the court..

by Russell Scheider

While I think the story doesn't deliver the emotion of the moment or how difficult of an attempt the shot by Freddy was, it does set the table nicely. If you were there please share your memories of the shot. I still get goosebumps rembered the feeling.

[El Scorcho]

What year was this again?

[Sly Fox]

Its from the '86-'87 season on February 13, 1987.

I'm now anticipating the inevitable posts from students saying they weren't even born yet.

And no, it wasn't like Pleasantville where real life was all black & white. We actually did have colors. They were invented sometime before '87.

[RedDog]

If you remember he almost lost the ball before he rushed to take the shot ... I remember the play was deisigned to have Mike Minett take the shot and Brad Hamersley was the second option and Mount knew it also because they double teammed Minett .... Fred Morgan got the ball almost lost it and then launched the shot as he was falling backward ... Right in front of Mount's Paul Edwards, their best player at that time.

That atmosphere was outstanding, We were down in the second half and worked our way back and then hit the shot to win the game ... The excitement of the game beat about game I have ever seen at Liberty ... The only one I still think had more atmosphere was when we played Radofrd in 1997 in the semifinals and Radford was stupid enough to single cover Alumna and 27 points later he showed whey they shouldn't have single-covered him.

He was an animal that night.

[El Scorcho]

Its from the '86-'87 season on February 13, 1987.

I'm now anticipating the inevitable posts from students saying they weren't even born yet.

And no, it wasn't like Pleasantville where real life was all black & white. We actually did have colors. They were invented sometime before '87.

Oh I was born before '87. I was in the second grade, but I was definitely alive.

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for sharing, El Scorcho. My wife also likes to remind me how young she was at certain event sto remind me how old I am now.

For those not old enough to remember, Mike Minnett was a pure shooter who if left alone could bang home threes all night. The trouble was that back then we didn't have that many dangerous options. There's no doubt we would've been looking for MM as our big #1 option ont hat play.

As for Freddy, he was an Ohio kid like me (he went to Worthington Christian in Columbus) so we had quite a few mutual friends. And standing at 5' 6" in hightops he was the hero of everyone on campus not blessed with a towering frame. During the time when Spud Webb & Mugsy Bogues were both emerging as stars in the NBA at the time and Freddy was our version of the mighty mite. He could dunk but not well despite by an incredible vert because he couldn't palm a ball.

Freddy's height made the increible shot all the more difficult as he scrambled and had to launch a sky high shot just to get over the outstretched hands of the two Mount's defenders who closed in on him as picked up the loose ball. What a shot and what a victory back when they weren't in large supply at the DII level.

[Baldspot]

I must have been sitting close to Sly. The back of Freddie's jersey was looking right at me and I half-way up the bleachers.

Sorry if I stepped on you after the shot.

[RedDog]

We played the Mount at Liberty in 1995 and I remember talking with Jim Phelan (with his bow tie collection) before the game and we were talking about the old games in Liberty Gym and in the airplaine hanger at the Mount and he even said it was unbelievable atmosphere at both places ... He loved playing the games with us because they were always hard fought and well played games for the most part ... He was an excellent coach who always recruited a lot of talent ... That team also had the best sixth man in college basketball at the time, Mark Scallion ... He never started and come off the bench and scored over 1,0000 points in his career

[TIMSCAR20]

a few things stand out in my mind about that shot. #1 Freddie never saw the rim. I asked him after the game. Because he lost the ball and had to run it down all he saw was the game clock going down to 0:00 fast so he had to launch! The game itself was just as crazy as that shot but I watched the whole thing from the bench as a freshman walk-on. Bailey Alston and I developed some chemistry on the scout team that year since he had to redshirt due to transferring from Rutgers. #2 the rush of the crowd was absolutely amazing. I think all 4000 people came down from the stands at once and it was wild! Freddie Morgan is the reason I learned how to dribble well enough to play point guard at the division 1 level. I thought I was good until Oct 15th of my freshman year. Up to that point we played pickup ball and I did well and thought I would compete for playing time. Once Oct 15th came, Freddie and Mike Minnett and Jim Pearce started playing like their lives were at stake! Fred took the ball from me EVERY TIME I dribbled. He was too quick...If you notice he wore #20 the same number I wore. That is the other reason why I give Fred credit for my career. Had he not been kicked off the team for grades, and Steve Farquahar had not broken his foot and Jim Pearce hadn't gotten mono, I would probably have never seen the floor. Ironically it was against Mt St Mary's my soph year that I had a breakout game and played the rest of my career. The #20 is retired in the program now but not because of Fred or me but Matt Hildebrand.

[Thelaxman]

I was there. I can tell you this. The noise level in the Old Gym was so loud it is a wonder I'm not hard of hearing from that game. I have to believe that the Fans made the difference in that game. Mount Saint Mary's had won the NCAA Div. 2 Championship either the year before or two years before that game I believe. They were one of the best Teams in the Country in NCAA DIV. 2 at the time.

But of all the College games I have been to, Winthrop, New Mexico and Liberty in the Vines Center. That was the best home crowd and loudest home crowd I have ever wintnessed in my life. What a game!

Thelaxman

[Thelaxman]

Scar:

I have not seen Jimmy Pearce for a long time. But we were good friends at Liberty. Jimmy is from my native hometown of Baltimore and played High School ball at Mt. Saint Joe in the City Championsip against Dunbar and Mugsy Boogs in either 82 or 83. Dunbar has put a lot of Players in the NBA.

Thelaxman

[Big -e-]

Wow....That brought back memories. I remember it best 'cuz I recorded the whole game. That game and every game from 1987 to 1990.

BTW...Was that John Baker to the right waving the towel? He never could grow a mustache.

I too grew up in Ohio, and that season I drove Freddy home one weekend a month after school started. Of course, my car broke down OTW back, so I he had to find his way back to school. Wish I had known that before I made an attempt to pick him up. Pre-cellphone days.

Always saw Freddy's teams at ASCI State Finals in Cedarville. Coached by former Asst. Coach Rick Burby, Freddy's team won three AAA State titles, and my team won three AA titles in a row.

Those were the days.....

[Sly Fox]

We need to get the clip of that shot moved into a file that can be posted online. Just thinking about it has me smiling.

[Big -e-]

Sorry, Sly...

That tape is the property of the Liberty University Men's Basketball; and is intended solely for the use of the Program. Any broadcast, rebroadcast or unauthorized use of the tape without the expressed written consent of the Program or Coach Meyer is strictly prohibited....