[El Scorcho]

The Flames pick up the third loss of the season, 71 to 66 at Buffalo.

Discuss it here.

[Stevev]

I don't feel as bad about this loss as I did the St Francis game. It was a step in the right direction even though it was a loss. Need to improve the rebounding a bit and hit the easy ones. Hopefully we can continue to improve with Brewington in the lineup.

[A.G.]

I can buy taking a couple of games to get everyone in sync with the new line-up.
I can buy using these games and the next couple of practices to get the guys in the groove before Lipscomb.
I will SELL our early season schedule. All that did was pad a win total and did nothing to prep the team.

Perhaps the students I've been ripping for staying away are the smart ones.

That said, I look forward to getting a win under our belts against a pretty decent team back in the Furnace. Should be the Flames and about 500 friends and family (and those of us with nothing better to do) on Thursday night.

[SuperJon]

Remember, their best player didn't play.

[kel varson]

SJ,

I was feeling okay about the loss until you just said that.

[SuperJon]

Just gotta point out both sides.

[jmdickens]

I feel worse about this game than the other night....we have to get some ROADS wins.....they show a teams true character.

[Stevev]

I feel better about this loss. At least Buffalo is a very worthy opponent based on who beat them and who they beat. I can't say that about St. Francis. Lossing to St. Francis is unacceptable. I will be a little worried if we lose at home vs Lipscome but LU really needs to beat a Seton Hall, Oral Roberts, or a BYU to get more respect.

[El Scorcho]

We really need a road win. Period. As they pointed out in the radio broadcast, we haven't had one since 2005. That's completely unacceptable. St. Francis should have been it, but we could have pulled it off tonight, too.

[PAmedic]

I missed the entire game- somehow the jinx reared its ugly head anyway

off hand- sounds like a BETTER effort- team chemistry is improving- and to beat this team in their own building this early on may have been a bit much to ask for a starting 5 playing in only their second game?

I don't know- just looking for answers here.

Man I hope the second half of the year gets better. At least win the conf games.

[LU'sbestmanager]

we went into the half winning, and came out flat. rebounding is the reason we didn't win tonight. we got out rebounded by 21, but im sure coach will have them ready to rebound against lipscomb. one of their guards had 15 rebounds but i don't think that will ever happen again with the bad taste left in the guys' mouth's. on a good note, we had 4 players in double figures and i thought that big russ came in and did a really good job for the few mins. that he played. they didn't go to the basket as much and they weren't gettiing all of those offensive rebounds when he was in. i think he's going to work himself into more minutes. if you look at the stat sheet it may look like BJ didn't play good at all, but he did a really good job at pushing the ball and he made some really nice passes to set people up in nice position to score.dwight played really good and looked really good and comfortable at the 1. he ran the team good and on the defensive end he had some really nice blocks. he also was 7-9 from the field, taking his normal good shots. the guy just doesn't take bad shots and when these guys start to gel... WATCH OUT! i think this team is getting better and i think you guys will like what you see come conference play.

[LUconn]

Reall, what it sounded like to me is we played about 36 minutes of good basketball. Once we got to about 40 or so, there was a 4 minute lapse where it seemed like we did nothing right. Turnovers, bad shots, not rebounding. That's really when they took control of the game. We got it close a few times but then it just got away.

[kel varson]

At least we're losing because of areas we can improve. It's not a talent issue. We didn't rebound (teachable).

[bigsmooth]

wow AG a close loss, and you are leaning to the hater group?? i did not think we would win, but we played a heck of a game, and just could not close it out. larry seems to be struggling a bit, but i look for us to bounce back thursday. if you are in town, please make it out and support the guys. D said we had a goos crew of fans and alumni there as well in the post-game.

[kel varson]

We have to do better at the foul line. 9 freethrows in the past two games. We've been outshot 45-9. Either stop fouling or get to the line ourselves.

[LUconn]

Here is a pet peeve of mine:


When a game is close, going back and forth with the lead and ties, one team hits a 3, the other team HAS to be disiplined enough not force up a 3 of their own unless it's there. It bugs me to no end to see us going toe to toe with someone, they hit a 3 and we rush down and try to do the same to keep pace. It's just 1 extra point! we can get it back later. It just reaks of immaturity.

[jcmanson]

Tough game, no doubt. We need to definitely get a road win to get rid of that monkey on our back. It's not a matter of if it's a matter of when we will get one this year. These kids will be fine. I'm just hoping they will be fine when we go to Asheville. That is a game we could definitely win, but we must play well.

[mrich]

I attended the game last night so I thought that I would give some observations. Since I do not care for the kool-aide, I thought I would start with the negative first.
1. We couldn't rebound worth a crap. Buffalo would miss a shot, and then sometimes get as many as four more opportunities to put it back in.
2. We let their point guard light us up. He was just hitting open shots. Our defense was fairly good, but we did not rotate well when we were in the zone.
3. Larry Blair is Still taking alot of garbage shots. To his credit, he did make a few, but a good portion of his shots are out of the flow of the offense. He had two guys on him and would just force it up.
4. We missed at least 7-8 layups.
5. We had very few FT attempts again, and it was not because of home court advantage. No one was taking the ball to the rack. We were settling for jumpers.
6. RD took Brewsky out from at the 3:00 minute mark. What the Heck?
7. Besides Mclean, we have no one who can score in the post.
Now for the positives.
1. I actually was a little impressed with how we played. Truthfully, I thought we would get blown out.
2. Brewsky is the real deal. The offense should be centered around him, LB has to understand. I don't think that we are utilizing him as well as we could. He would be great for 5 minutes, and then kind of disapear. We have got to find a way to get him more involved.
Besides the rebounding, I thought that we played well. I think that we should be ok for conference time, however Winthrop is still an easy favorite.

[LUconn]

But he plays Point Guard. You can't really center an offense around someone who's #1 goal is to distribute the ball.

Besides, those "garbage" shots are only garbage when he doesn't make them. He normally does make them and we then call it "creating his own shot". It seemed to work fine 2 games ago and Blair certainly wasn't forced to take them due to a lack of other options.

[Rocketfan]

But he plays Point Guard. You can't really center an offense around someone who's #1 goal is to distribute the ball.

Besides, those "garbage" shots are only garbage when he doesn't make them. He normally does make them and we then call it "creating his own shot". It seemed to work fine 2 games ago and Blair certainly wasn't forced to take them due to a lack of other options.

Well thats not totally true.....AI did it about two years ago for the Sixers and had some pretty good numbers. But i understand your point, its not typical by any means.

[kel varson]

So put Blair at point guard, and Brew at the 2/ or Brew at the 3. We do need more balanced scoring. Why can't Baker step up and play the post when McClean is out. I keep harping on this but he is 6 foot 9 w/ a nice build.

I'd like to see Blair take 2 or 3 fewer shots, unless they are wide open. He's really not shoot well from the 3 so far. 30 or 31 percent I believe. He shot 35 percent last season. Smith and Jenkins are lighting it up from 3. Jenkins over 50 percent and Smith at 42 percent.

[LUconn]

Because Brew came here to play point gaurd. That's what he wanted to play, one of the reasons he left PC, and one of the reasons he chose Liberty. Not to mention if LB could play PG well enough, I'm sure he'd have wanted to since that's his best shot at the NBA.

[WWJFD]

Here are my observations:

1. UB's starting center did not play. We may have lost more with that guy playing. Who knows?

2. Early on I thought we were going to get blown out. We held tough. For the first 8 minutes, Brew was almost perfect. He hit a 3, made an outstanding 3 point play, blocked 3 shots, was doing great. Then.. to my fear he ran out of gas IMO. He picked up 2 fouls and I thought would go to the bench. Coach took him out for a bit (1-2 minutes) but played the final 6-7 minutes with 2 fouls. I think his presence on the floor is what gave LU the 3 point league at the half.

3. I know it goes both ways but we missed a couple of bunnies (2 by Anthony Smith, 1 by Brew). LB did take alot of shots (missed all his 3 point shots), but really some were in and out. He really needs to understand he now has players around him that can play.

4. Alex started slow, but came on the last 8 minutes in the 1st and all of the 2nd.

5. BJ did not play as well as others have said. I credit it to being a freshmen. He is going to be a very good player as he gains more experience. The critical mistake IMO was with about 7 1.2 min in the 2nd. We had the momentum and he came down on transition. He made a poor choice to over penetrate in the lane. He tried to shoot a 8 footer and either the shot was partially blocked or air balled it. UB's PG comes down the other way and nails a 3. (By the way. Thier PG was only 4-10 from 3 however his last 3 were in the last 5 minutes so 1. give him credit for keep shooting and 2. he did not kill us all night)

6. Rell was in foul trouble all night 5 fouls in 9 minutes. I think he would have helped our rebounding efforts. We did suck on REB's (they had 24 offensive rebounds). Face it LU plays a smaller line up and that will be a problem all year. LU will have to just work harder on it.

7. A Smith was at times excellent and other times not so great. He kept it close down the stretch with a 3 and nice under the basket power move.

8. To answer why Brew was taken out with 3 minutes left. He allowed his defender to get 15 rebounds that night, Brew was tired and unable to D up. UB had run the shot clock down to 2 seconds and missed on a shot and the UB player outworked Brew for the loose ball rebound, then eventually hit a 3.

I could go on and on. If anyone has any specific questions, they can post it and I will be honest in my answer. I think LU has potential. I think they jel more as the season goes on. LU definitely could use another inside presence, but not sure if Russ is the answer. Tyler and Damian just aren't strong enough to post up and have an impact. Lamont would be the answer and word from a LU fan in the stands last night said he is starting to progress in his recovery and may not be red shirted (????)

That is it for now

[mrich]

I would agree with all that you said, and Larry I think is the key to success this season. If he keeps playing like he is, I do not think that we will have any chance to win the BSC. He is playing a little selfishly. I think he got to used to scoring so much last year. For example, last night he took several shots before the offense was set up. There was no one down low, so of course Buffalo got an easy rebound. When Larry drives he has a shoot first, pass only when in trouble mentality. He needs to play within his talent level. He is a great player, but he needs to play within the offense.

[LUconn]

For example, last night he took several shots before the offense was set up. There was no one down low, so of course Buffalo got an easy rebound.

good observation! I've noticed that a lot of the team does it. I think it's because they're trying to keep the tempo up since we're a pretty quick team. But I hate it because as you mentioned, more often than not, nobody is in a good position to rebound it.