Liberty University
1-0
Cairn
0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairn | 27 | 26 | 53 |
| Liberty | 39 | 42 | 81 |
Liberty Opens Season with 81-53 Win over Cairn
11/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Liberty Flames men's basketball team opened its 2016-17 season by dispensing of the Cairn Highlanders, 81-53 , Friday night inside the Vines Center.
With the win, Liberty moves to 1-0 on the year.
Senior guard John Dawson scored a team-high 15 point on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and newcomer Ray Chen netted 14 points to lead Liberty's scoring effort in the contest.
Caleb Homesley had a game-high eight rebounds to go along with nine points for the Flames.
Zachary Dolton paced Cairn and all scorers in the game with 29 points. The Highlanders' forward shot 10-for-16 from the field.
Liberty shot 57.7 percent (15-26) from the field in the second half to close the game with a 52.6 percent (30-57) field goal percentage. Liberty was 12-29 (41.4 percent) from behind the three-point arc on the night.
Cairn shot 36.5 percent (19-52) for the contest, finishing 7-25 (28 percent) from behind the arc.
Liberty opened up a nine-point advantage during the first 8:30 minutes of play. Leading 11-8, the Flames went on a 10-1 run during the next 4:22. Caleb Homesley began the home team's spurt with a layup off a feed from Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz at 14:15. A lay-up by Dawson and a three-pointer by Brock Gardner at 11:28 gave Liberty a 21-9 lead.
The Flames held onto its nine-point edge over the next four minutes, taking a 29-20 lead on Ryan Kemrite's third trey of the first half at 7:29.
Cairn chipped into the Liberty lead over the next 1:39 to close within two. Dolton collected seven straight points with a two from the behind the three point arc and a free throw, cutting the Flames' advantage to 29-27 at 6:07.
However, Dolton's trey capped the run and was the last Highlanders' points of the half. Liberty closed the half on a 10-0 run, holding Cairn to 0-of-6 shooting over the final 6:07 of the half. Pacheco-Ortiz began the burst with a lay-up at 5:05. Liberty closed the half with jumper by Dawson and back-to-back threes by Chen to carry a 39-27 lead into halftime.
Dawson and Kemrite led the Flames with nine points each at halftime, while Chen had eight. Liberty shot 48.4 percent (15-31) from the field during the first 20 minutes, including 47.1 percent from behind the arc.
Meanwhile, Dolton scored 19 points of the Highlanders' 27 points in the first half. The forward was 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 from the three-point land. Cairn shot 34.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc in the period.
Liberty continued its hot shooting during the opening minutes of the second half. Liberty made six of its first eight shots of the half to build an 18-point advantage, 54-36, at 15:09 of the final 20 minutes.
Two Dawson three-pointers and a dunk by Homesley highlighted the six-point burst, 15-9, by the Flames.
Liberty extended its lead over the next several minutes, upping its advantage to 26, 67-41, on a trey by A.C. Reid at 8:22. Meanwhile, the Liberty defense held Cairn without a three-pointer during the first 15:25 of the second half. The Highlanders finished the half 1-of-11 from behind the arc.
The Flames' lead first reached 27 on two free throws by Chen at 6:10, 71-44. A dunk by Josiah Talbert and a tip-in by Homesley at 4:46 helped Liberty hold that advantage on the scoreboard.
Chen closed the night, sinking two of his six made free throws in the contest with 25 seconds left for the final score, 81-53.
Liberty next hosts the VCU Rams as the second game of a doubleheader with the Liberty women's team on Tuesday. The Flames is slated to get underway at 8 p.m. The Lady Flames will host James Madison with tip-off at 5 p.m.
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