MBB Game Day Central: Winthrop

Complete Game Notes (PDF format)

Live Video Streaming (Big South Network)

Live Flames Sports Network Radio Broadcast

Live Stats

Winthrop's Men's Basketball Web Page

The Game
The Liberty men's basketball team remains in the Palmetto State this weekend, squaring off with Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C. The Eagles are currently 6-9 on the season and 2-3 in Big South play. Tipoff for Saturday's contest inside the Winthrop Coliseum is slated for 4 p.m.

The contest is the 41st meeting between the two teams. Liberty and Winthrop split their two encounters last season. The Eagles took the first meeting in Rock Hill, S.C., 59-57 (Jan. 3, 2009). The following month (Feb. 7, 2009), the Flames hosted Winthrop, defeating the Eagles, 57-47.

Recent Results
The Flames escaped the Virginia snow and cold weather last week, traveling to Orlando, Fla., to participate in the UCF Holiday Classic. Liberty's first contest of the tournament pitted the Flames against their host, UCF, Tuesday evening. Despite keeping it close throughout the first half, the Knights pulled away from the Flames to take the contest, 82-58.

The following afternoon, Liberty squared off with Buffalo in the tournament's consolation game. Unfortunately for the Flames, the Bulls were able to rebound from their loss to Jacksonville the previous night, defeating Liberty 81-64 inside UCF Arena.

On Saturday, the Flames traveled to Lexington, Va., for a conference contest with VMI. Down by as much as 18 in the first half, the Flames rallied at Cameron Hall for a 110-102 victory.
The Flames improved to 3-1 in conference action for the first time since the 2003-04 season, Thursday night, defeating Presbyterian, 77-67. Liberty was led by Kyle Ohman and Evan Gordon, who finished with 23 and 22 points, respectively.

Watch and Listen for the Flames
Saturday's game will be video streamed on the Big South Network. There will be a radio broadcast which will air on the Flames Sports Network (fl agship WRVL 88.3 FM) with Jerry Edwards providing the play-by-play for his 29th season. Additionally, an Internet audio broadcast on LibertyFlames.com will be available.

Soaring with the Eagles
Winthrop enters Saturday's matchup with a 6-9 record overall and 2-3 posting in conference play. On Thursday, the Eagles hosted the high scoring VMI Keydets inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
Winthrop held the visiting Keydets to just 63 points, VMI's second lowest point total of the season.
Five Eagles managed to reach double-digit point totals in the 96-63 win over the Keydets, as Matt Morgan (15), Reggie Middleton (13), Justin Burton (10), Gideon Gamble (10) and Mantoris Robinson (10), each had 10 or more tallies in the contest. The Eagles were also effective on the defensive end, holding VMI's Keith Gabriel, who posted 27 against Liberty last Saturday, to just six points. Prior to his meeting with Winthrop, Gabriel entered the contest as VMI's leading scorer, averaging 19.3 points per game.

While there is not a dominant scorer within the Winthrop lineup, the Eagles appear to share their team's scoring duties, with four players averaging over seven points per contest, Morgan (7.9 ppg), Middleton (7.9 ppg), Andre Jones (7.6 ppg) and Andy Buechert (7.2 ppg). Buechert is also the team's leading rebounder, grabbing 6.9 boards per game.

Liberty-Winthrop Series Notes
Saturday's contest marks the 41st meeting between Liberty and Winthrop, with the Eagles currently holding a 26-14 series lead over the Flames. The two teams first met during the 1991-92 campaign, Liberty's inaugural Big South season. The first encounter occurred on Jan. 30, 1992, as the Flames defeated the Eagles 72-58. Both teams met just nine days later on Feb. 8, 1992. Liberty walked away with another victory, besting the Eagles in the Vines Center, 63-52, capping off a six-game conference winning streak. That season, Liberty finished with a 22-7 record overall and a 10-4 record in conference play.

Last season, the Flames nearly kicked off 2009 with a road win against the Eagles, but critical misses at the free throw line helped Winthrop hold off Liberty in the Winthrop Coliseum, 59-57, on Jan. 3, 2009. Anthony Smith and Seth Curry led the way for the Flames, finishing with 24 and 18 points respectively. Three Eagles managed to reach double figures in scoring — Byron Fasion (16), Charles Corbin (12) and Mantoris Robinson (10).

The following month, Liberty avenged the loss, defeating the Eagles inside the Vines, 57-47, on Feb. 7. Seth Curry netted 16 tallies in the contest, followed by Kyle Ohman, who finished with 11. Anthony Smith and Jesse Sanders posted solid numbers on the glass, grabbing eight and seven rebounds, respectively.

On the Road
Liberty is 5-14 all-time inside the Winthrop Coliseum. The last time the Flames picked up a road win in Rock Hill was during the 2003-04 campaign, when Liberty defeated the Eagles 74-62 on Feb. 18, 2004, completing a regular season sweep. Liberty went on to capture its second Big South title that season.

Layer Versus the Big South
Dale Layer holds a 6-5 record all-time against current Big South opponents. Prior to returning to Liberty, Layer went 1-2 against Gardner-Webb as head coach of the Colorado State Rams. At the time, the Runnin' Bulldogs were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. During his stint at Division II member Queens, Layer garnered a 2-2 record against the Winthrop Eagles.

Layer Versus the Eagles
During Dale Layer's tenure at Queens, the Royals matched up with the Eagles on four occasions. The first meeting took place on Nov. 24, 1990, as the visiting Royals shocked the Eagles in their season opener in Rock Hill, S.C., 72-64.

Winthrop also opened its season at home against Queens during the 1992-93 campaign on Dec. 02, 1992. The Eagles avenged the loss from the previous meeting, besting the Royals 92-84. The following season, the Royals upset the Eagles once again, earning an 85-77 decision (Dec. 15, 1993).

Layer's last meeting with Winthrop occurred on Dec. 11, 1994. The Eagles managed to even the series with Queens, edging out the Royals, 73-70.

Second Time Around
When Layer served as a Liberty assistant during the 2007-08 season, the Flames went 7-7 in conference play. Liberty posted at least one win over all but one conference opponent. That season, the Winthrop Eagles took both contests against the Flames, 55-48 (Jan. 15, 2008) and 59-50 (Feb. 12, 2008). Liberty managed to sweep one Big South opponent, as they went 2-0 against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, 78-59 (Jan. 21, 2008) and 66-51 (Feb. 16, 2008).

First Double-Double
Earning his first collegiate start in Liberty's 77-67 win over Presbyterian, Antwan Burrus proceeded to garner a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The dual-category achievement is the first of his collegiate career.

Burrus was the first Flame to earn weekly conference honors. The forward was tabbed the Big South Freshman of the Week on Dec. 14 for his 15-point, five rebound performance against Kentucky Christian (Dec. 12). He is currently averaging 5.4 points and 2.9 boards per game.

Continuing the Trend
After being tabbed as freshman of the week on Monday, Evan Gordon picked up where he left off, netting 22 points against Presbyterian. The freshman hit 6-of-10 from the field (four-of-seven from three-point range) and was perfect from the charity stripe (six-of-six).

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