Liberty Flames turning up the heat on the court

Flames off to a 3-0 start in inaugural season with ASUN conference

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Raising the maturity level and focusing on the next 40 minutes -- those were two keys that coach Ritchie McKay said has been pivotal to the Flames early season success.

"Trying to make sure we build our brand to be a championship caliber contender. And we are not there yet but we are certainly in the process," said McKay.

Liberty has had quite the travel log for the past month that resulted in a successful business trip. They played six games on the road covering more than 8,000 miles and returned home with a 13-4 record, that included a dominating win over UCLA.

"It seems like we were on the road for forever but, if you're going to be on the road this is the group you want to travel with. These are really good guys, they are very pursuant of improvement," McKay said.

"There is eight or nine guys that could lead us in scoring on any given night from Darius McGhee the freshman to Lovell Cabbil the senior. I just think we have a myriad of options on offense."

New for the Flames this year is playing in the ASUN conference where they've started off 3-0, the programs best conference start since 2011.

"I think that maturity is reflected in your ownership and responsibility and how committed you are to improving on a daily basis," said McKay.

Flames forward Scottie James described part of the team's improvement can come from finishing games.

"We just have to play 40 minutes and a lot of times teams get complacent when they're up by 15 so we just have to grow in maturity and try to build on our leads instead of being complacent," James said.

Liberty will try to keep the good times rolling in the ASUN conference as they travel to Kinnesaw State on Wednesday before returning home on Saturday.


About the Author:

Eric is no stranger to the Roanoke Valley. He is a Roanoke native and proud graduate of William Fleming High School.