Liberty Flames Engulfed by Jacksonville State's Heat at Pete Mathews Coliseum
In a closely contested battle at Pete Mathews Coliseum, the Liberty Flames fell short against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks with a final score of 62-73. The Flames' season record now stands at an unranked position, while the Gamecocks also remain unranked. Despite a valiant effort, the Flames could not clinch victory in this conference game.
The Liberty Flames started strong, matching their opponents almost point for point in the first half and ending it with only a slight deficit of 31-33. Their offense was fueled by an impressive 52 percent shooting from two-point range and they managed to sink nine three-pointers throughout the game at a 32 percent success rate. The team's free throw performance hovered around 53 percent as they made nine out of seventeen attempts.
Defensively, however, the Flames struggled to contain Jacksonville State's offense which shot an outstanding 62 percent from the field and an even more impressive 70 percent on two-point attempts. The Gamecocks capitalized on their scoring opportunities in paint with a total of 32 points coming from that area.
The Liberty players showed resilience as they fought for every ball leading to six second-chance points and five fast break points. They maintained discipline with only five turnovers compared to ten by Jacksonville State but were outrebounded significantly with only twenty-two rebounds against thirty-four by their opponents.
A key aspect of this contest was how both teams managed assists and turnovers; while each team recorded twelve assists, Liberty had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4 compared to Jacksonville State's lower ratio of 1.33 due to their higher turnover count.
Despite these efforts, personal fouls proved costly for both sides as Liberty accumulated twenty fouls over the course of play while Jacksonville State committed twenty-one fouls themselves.
Looking ahead after this tough loss on enemy territory, fans can mark their calendars for when the Liberty Flames take on New Mexico State Aggies next month. This upcoming game is scheduled for February 1st at Pan American Center in Las Cruces NM starting at 9:00 PM Eastern Time and will be broadcasted live on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to tune in as they cheer on their team from afar or perhaps even make plans to attend what promises to be another exciting matchup.