[TDDance234]

I'd like to credit our defense with the reason they shot 31%. Every shot was contested and

This isn't a bad shooting team. For the season they have been shooting 45% from the field collectively and 3% from downtown. This was an ugly win, no doubt, but when you're coming off a season where we would have lost this game by 30, it's an improvement. The addition of Alex allows us to pressure more out on the wings because we're not having to cheat so much on these big guys down low.

Justin and BJ came to play. I wouldn't crown Brew just yet as the savior of this team. They aren't going to give up their burn without a fight.

It seemingly takes a team longer to get their offensive barings than their defensive. That holds true to this Liberty team.

And LB is LB. He's going to get his shots and we need him to get his shots.

[TDDance234]

That kid is straight weird.

But he does get the crowd going. Some good stuff.

[SuperJon]

Will, were you talking about Jonathan Snively?

[TDDance234]

You could spot that kid a mile away.

He just sticks out.

[SuperJon]

That's who I figured it as. He's a little out there with some of the stuff he does but he's a great fan. You remember from the CSU football game.


Now I just pray to God I get my projects and papers finished before Monday night.

[TDDance234]

You and me both. I'm on page #21 of a final paper and it's only about halfway done.

Unfortauntly, I'm required to be at games monday and tuesday nights for my coaching basketball class.

/end hijack

[Purple Haize]

Work with me on this one. How does great defense cause you to shoot 31% from the FT line? As for your contenton that every shot was covered, I would have lOVEd to been that "closely" guarded when I played. ECU missed a ton of the lay ups and several wide open 3's. Of course so did LU (1 - 11 I believe) but ECU IMO did a better job contesting shots and playing D.
I will agree that this is a game we would have lost last year, especially at the end of the year

[Sly Fox]

Back to what went down on the floor:

Flames Heat Up “The Furnace” With 64-56 Win Over Conference USA Foe, East Carolina

December 2, 2006
Lynchburg, Va.


Alex McLean had game highs with 17 points and 11 rebounds

Liberty (4-1) overcame a 17-3 deficit early in the first half to beat Conference USA foe East Carolina (4-2) at the Vines Center on Saturday night, 64-56.

On the night that legendary Liberty basketball player, Karl Hess had his jersey retired, honoring the most prolific scorer in school history, the Flames defeated East Carolina for the first time after going winless in five previous meetings. The victory also marked the Flames first win ever over a Conference USA foe. Hess is Liberty’s all-time scoring leader with 2,373 points.

East Carolina got on the board to open the contest on a three-point basket by Courtney Captain to give the Pirates the 3-0 lead 20 seconds into the game. After Anthony Smith hit one of two free throws, Captain got a lay-up on a fast break to extend the lead to 5-1 with 18:42 left in the first half.

East Carolina extended the lead to 6-1, after John Fields hit the one of two free throws. Darrell Jenkins then pushed the advantage to 9-1 after hitting a three-point basket from the corner with 16:16 left in the half. Captain followed by hitting a jumper at 15:38 to make it an 11-1 Pirate lead.

After a Jeremy Ingram basket at 14:20 made it a 13-1 game, the Flames got their first field goal of the contest at 13:57 as Larry Blair fed Alex McLean to make it 13-3.

However, it was a Russell Monroe thunderous dunk on a B.J. Jenkins pass with 8:54 left in the first half which got the Liberty crowd and the Flames on track. Monroe’s dunk was so powerful, the shot clock slid halfway out of its casing above the basket. The rim rocker cut the lead to 17-7 East Carolina, but sent the Flames on an 18-13 run to close out the half. The run left the Pirates with a 26-21 lead at the half.

The Flames started the second half on a 5-2 run to cut the Pirates lead to 28-26 when Blair hit a wide open three-point basket with 18:12 left in the game.

After being down 17-3 with 12:04 left in the first half, the Flames tied it up at 30 a piece as Blair hit both free throws at 15:34 left in the game.

Liberty then took their first lead of the game with 14:49 left when Jenkins took the ball coast-to-coast for a lay-up giving the Flames their first advantage at 32-30.

Ingram gave the Pirates a one-point lead after banking a three-point shot at 14:07 left in the contest to make it, 33-32. Jenkins then picked Cory Farmer’s pocket and laid the ball in, after the Pirate secured a defensive rebound under the Flames basket, giving Liberty a 34-33 advantage with 13:25 left in the game.

Farmer hit a jumper to regain the lead for the Pirates at 35-34, but back to back baskets on transition from McLean and Jenkins extended the Flames lead to 38-35 with 11:43 left in the game.

The Flames went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 44-35 on a McLean basket with 10:03 left in the game. The Pirates cut it to 46-41 after a quick 6-2 run of their own after two Captain three-point baskets with the second coming with 7:34 left in the game.

The Flames went neck and neck with the Pirates over the next four minutes, holding an 8-7 edge over the span, capped by a McLean put back after a Justin Holland miss to give Liberty the 54-48 lead with 3:56 left in the game.

The Pirates tried to comeback, but were unable as the Flames held a 10-8 advantage over the final three minutes of play to close out East Carolina and secure the win. The Flames solidified the victory at the line as Damien Hubbard, McLean and Anthony Smith all hit big free throws at the conclusion of the game. The Pirates were 10-of-27 from the free throw line, including 10 straight misses which aided in East Carolina’s demise.
The Flames shot 61.5% on 16-of-26 shooting from the field in the second half, a vast improvement from their 22.6% on 7-of-31 shooting in the first half. East Carolina shot 35.1% from the field on 20-of-57 shooting in the loss.

McLean collected his third double-double of the season with a game highs with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Flames. Blair collected 15 points, while Jenkins chipped in 12 points, three assists and three steals off the bench in the win.

Captain scored 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and Darrell Jenkins scored 12 points in the losing cause.

The win gives Liberty its fourth straight win. The last time the Flames won four straight games was during the 2004-05 season, when Liberty won five straight games, capped by a 91-71 victory over VMI on January 24, 2005 at the Vines Center.

Liberty is back in action on Monday night when St. Francis (Pa.) comes to the Vines Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

http://libertyflames.com/index.cfm?PID= ... 9&TeamID=6

[TDDance234]

Which is why I excluded FT percentage.

They played hack-a-center with ECU and they couldn't make them. We left 13 misses FTs on the board as well.

[SuperJon]

On a side note, from that picture, I think I look better than ECU's uniforms, and that's saying a ton.

[Sly Fox]

And here is the recap from Chris:

LU comes from behind to beat East Carolina

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 2, 2006

The wounds from a disastrous 2005-06 season are still so fresh that there was natural hesitation among those in Liberty's fan base to accept Randy Dunton's word that last year was done with.

A blip. A total aberration. Not without conclusive proof, at least.

Consider Saturday night's 64-56 win over East Carolina a start. No, the Pirates aren't one of Conference USA's better teams. In fact, they might be that league's worst squad. That doesn't matter to Liberty, which spent the last week and a half fattening up on cupcakes, leaving many to wonder if the Flames' 3-1 record was in itself a fluke.

It seemed that way early when ECU (4-2) grabbed a 17-3 lead and Liberty (4-1) missed shots in every fashion imaginable. Layups, 3-pointers, short jumpers, drives to the basket; nothing worked. It looked like getting to 15 points at halftime would be a chore. Liberty didn't hit a field goal until more than six minutes into the game.

"I'm sitting there trying to evaluate what's really going on," Dunton said. "The scoreboard was ugly at that point in time."

But East Carolina made a critical mistake. The Pirates eased up, and Liberty sensed an opening. Larry Blair hit a jumper to draw the Flames within 17-5, but the crowd of 2,664 was still in a funk. Then came the dunk.

After an ECU turnover, Justin Holland hit a streaking Russell Monroe, who slammed the ball with such force that the shot clock nearly slid out of its casing on top of the basket. Though Liberty was still down 17-7, the flow of the game had changed.

"That definitely was a spark," Blair said. "That's when everything started snowballing for us."

Liberty began to defend with passion. The Flames hit the boards hard, limiting ECU to one shot on most possessions. The Pirates went 9? minutes without a field goal, and Liberty cut the lead to five points by the break.

"I thought we came out playing very well," said ECU coach Ricky Stokes, the former Virginia standout and Virginia Tech coach. "We had some turnovers and I thought Liberty's offensive rebounding really hurt us in that segment there."

Liberty, which outrebounded the Pirates 47-37, turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, forced turnovers and took the lead for good at the 12:15 mark when Alex McLean (17 points, 11 rebounds) scored underneath to put the Flames up 36-35. The bucket sparked a 10-0 run in which ECU turned it over once and missed four shots.

"Probably about 75 percent of our practices are defense, closeouts, getting our feet moving," McLean said. "Defense wins games. Everybody can put the ball in the basket. But you've got to lock down on D."

Said Dunton: "They're buying in defensively, because they're tough. We're athletic enough to get out and challenge, and still quick enough to dribble. You start talking about that stuff a year ago, we let people in the kitchen, and they could make cinnamon rolls. We just didn't show any toughness about protecting our paint."

Because of that scrappiness on defense, Liberty has its first four-game win streak since January 2004. But the first three victories were sort of pooh-poohed by the populace because they came against non-NCAA competition. Bottom feeder or not, Saturday's victory was Liberty's first ever against a Conference USA team, so it represents a significant step for the Flames.

"This was the jumpstart we needed. This was a statement game," McLean said. "This game was huge for our confidence. This is going to get our team rolling. And with the addition of Dwight in two games, if we can keep it up, we're going to mesh together well and have a real successful season."

McLean was referring to Dwight Brewington, the Providence transfer who will be eligible to join the team Dec. 16. With no Brewington, Holland and freshman B.J. Jenkins (12 points, three assists, three steals) have been forced to learn on the fly, and that can only bolster Liberty's depth down the line.

That was something else the Flames lacked last year, two words that have quickly become dirty around the LU program.

"We re-established the fact that we can go out and we can play," Dunton said. "A year ago is in the past. When you've got discipline, and you remove pieces from the equation, you no longer are the same.

"Now, we've got a roster with 11 kids that is battling right now. I really feel good about the talent level."

http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports

[LU'sbestmanager]

I know ugly, and that game was UGLY. I don't think you can underestimate the 31% FT shooting by ECU b/c there were a lot of front ends that were missed. I would say McClean looked good, at least he was the one who stuck out in my mind. He did a nice job on the boards. He stepped up when the tall/big feller was out for ECU.
I know I sound, and am labeled a hater, but this was not impressive. ECU couldn't throw it in the ocean, which is odd since they are located right next to it, and it wasn't b/c of LU's lock down defense. We beat a team that will finish in the lower part of CUSA and we will finish in the low part of the BS. Two good things: We won. It was close and somewhat exciting

WOW! we won 7 games last year. our young guys(B.J., Tyler, and justin) brought energy off the bench and played good tonight.

that kid is a really good fan. i wish he can find a crew to do some things with him.

[BJWilliams]

Yeah that kid was something else...I tried to help with some stuff but I wasn't getting much of anywhere so I went back to the band section.

[SuperJon]

My (bad) joke got sandwich and I wanted to bring it to light.

On a side note, from that picture, I think I look better than ECU's uniforms, and that's saying a ton.

[lureal]

Great WIN!!! we shoot 62% in the second half hold ecu to 32% out score them by 13. and the dingbat purple haize is finding negatives. you should be fired oh you already have been. the determination on our guys, coach rotating the guards took its toll. oh we can get better but to win with lb having a marginal night shows their are more weapons. lets get a big crowd out for monday and next saturday as well. congratulations to coach d and the team. tht is the second biggest win of the year at LU.

[whmatthews]

BJ was great tonight. Just a freshman.

[jmdickens]

tht is the second biggest win of the year at LU.

What was the biggest win of the year??

[bigsmooth]

i will agree with dickens once.....what was the biggest win?? anyway. a good win for the guys! the first half could have made you sick, but the second half was great and russell's dunk i think fueled the fire. B.J. and justin were a pleasant surprise as well. ECU is certainly a streak shooting team and they really need work on th FT'S, but take nothing away from our guys, they played hard, stepped up and made the plays to win the game. the crowd thatwas there did their best to help, and hopefully this win will gradually bring more students back to the furnace.

[A.G.]

I know ugly, and that game was UGLY. I don't think you can underestimate the 31% FT shooting by ECU b/c there were a lot of front ends that were missed. I would say McClean looked good, at least he was the one who stuck out in my mind. He did a nice job on the boards. He stepped up when the tall/big feller was out for ECU.
I know I sound, and am labeled a hater, but this was not impressive. ECU couldn't throw it in the ocean, which is odd since they are located right next to it, and it wasn't b/c of LU's lock down defense. We beat a team that will finish in the lower part of CUSA and we will finish in the low part of the BS. Two good things: We won. It was close and somewhat exciting

I agree 100%. One of the ugliest games I've seen in the Vines.

[kel varson]

Biggest win of 06 was last spring against Winthrop...duh.

[Purple Haize]

Great WIN!!! we shoot 62% in the second half hold ecu to 32% out score them by 13. and the dingbat purple haize is finding negatives. you should be fired oh you already have been. the determination on our guys, coach rotating the guards took its toll. oh we can get better but to win with lb having a marginal night shows their are more weapons. lets get a big crowd out for monday and next saturday as well. congratulations to coach d and the team. tht is the second biggest win of the year at LU.

Glad to see you are staying within the guidelines of the board. Of course not having been called a ding bat since ohhh I don't know, 3rd grade speaks volumes of your maturity level.
Calling this the second biggest win of the year at LU also bespeaks volumes about your stunning intellect. Most people talk about a basketball season as a year. Ergo, you are saying that a win against Houghton, Virginia Southern or Cincy Christian out ranks this one. If however you mean a calendar year, you would be better served by stating a calendar year. That whole communication thing can avoid soooo much confusion, especially since you apparently have so many voices in your head.
Why should I be fired again? You must have me mistaken for a Pfizer rep, they are the company that just laid off 20% of their work force. (We are actually planning on expanding). And I am fairly certain, that since corporate is located in Delaware, the only team I MUST root for are the Fighting Blue Hens.
Further, it might be time to check your meds and or lens prescription. I mentioned that this is a game we would have lost last year, especially by the end of the year. Not sure how that is negative, except that it is true. So if truth is negative, then should we live a lie to keep peace in the world? Where is Kierkegaard when you need him?
No sane person would call this a great game by LU. The defense was porous allowing too many open shots, 3pt shooting not very good and the only reason our free throw percentage looks decent is that theirs looks worse.
Keep up the good work

[thepostman]

I think he was saying the second biggest when for LU this year, as a whole...all sports teams...not sure if it ranks that high...

our defense was solid, we were scrambling around the court and sure they had some open shots and missed them...in the second half we pretty much dominated this team...sure they missed free throws, but with the way we came out so flat we should be happy we pulled out the win. This is a step in the right direction from last season....

ps....i love when people call people childish on here... we are all a little childish, we spend time on a message board debating the smallest little issues....anyways...solid win, we're moving in the right direction

[Purple Haize]

Did I say childish? I don't think I did. I agree, we are all a little childish. Questioning maturity, courage, eye sight, proper use of medications sure, but not Childish! Heck, Peter Pan (not Parker) is my HERO!!!!
Still disagree with the analysis of the "D". Missed wide open shots, IMO, does not equate to good defense. Not sure we dominated them in the second half either. I do agree with the way we played we just should be happy with the win.

[SuperJon]

and the dingbat purple haize is finding negatives. you should be fired oh you already have been.

How is this kid not banned for personal attacks? Every post that they make is attacking Dickens or haize personally.

[jmdickens]

It's basically b/c he is a koolaid drinker....That sums it up, one way opinions or you're evil