LYNCHBURG, Va. – It was a nail-biter all throughout Thursday night’s ASUN Quarterfinals contest between Liberty and Lipscomb as the largest lead in the game was eight points but in the end Liberty was able to come out on top, defeating Lipscomb 52-47 at Liberty Arena. Liberty advances to the ASUN Semifinals and will host Bellarmine on March 5 at Liberty Arena. The Flames improve to 22-10 on the year and 13-2 at home.
Despite poor shooting in the first half, the second half offered six lead changes within the first 12 minutes. A late layup from Kyle Rode put the Flames up 44-43 and from that point, Liberty was able to sustain enough offense for the 52-47 victory.
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ASUN Player of the Year Darius McGhee scored 26 points, while Keegan McDowell added 10.
“It is tournament time. That was really hard-fought, I have a lot of respect for Coach Acuff and their program. They do it the right way and they had a great scheme and game plan and I do not care how old you are, how many games you have been in during tournament play, the first one is always really hard because you realize the significance of it,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “I was proud of our group, we didn’t play as efficiently as we had been on the offensive end but we found a way to pull one out.”
Liberty will host Bellarmine on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the ASUN Semifinals.