vs UPR Mayaguez

[LUconn]

we've been playing for an hour and I can't find any internet updates. I'm also not near a radio. Anybody who would like to keep me updated is welcome to.

[bigsmooth]

64-55 flames with 5:42 to go in the game.

[LUconn]

oh thank goodness.

[bigsmooth]

68-58 flames 3:50 to go. this team is called the tarzans, jerry edwards said they had no stats or info from this team before going into the tournament. he said this has been an ugly game, and the refs are not calling anything so the game will end quickly.

[bigsmooth]

72-58. edwards says it looks like a sandlot game. 2:28 to go. he just said it looks like ymca basketball...up and down and no fouls.

[bigsmooth]

74-58. LB has 11 points. jerry is worried that the no calls could cause injury. 1:21 left in the game.

[bigsmooth]

74-60 FINAL. edwards said UPR-M is a DII independent. i will get post game info shortly. hey...it's a win.

[LUconn]

Well this game isn't doing anything for us. Although Larry only has 15% of our points. That's gotta mean somebody else is doing something. But still, what a waste of time this game is turning out to be.

[bigsmooth]

final stats:
FG- 30-66 46%
FT- 8-14
3PT- 6-11
TURNOVERS- 16
REBOUNDS- 45-28 LU

scoring:
A. SMITH- 16 PTS
HUBBARD- 15 PTS
BLAIR- 11 PTS
MONROE- 10 PTS , 7 BOARDS
STEWART- 8 PTS
BIGBY- 5PTS , 9 BOARDS
RISHER- 3 PTS
ECK- 0 POINTS

UPR-M shot 35% and had 11 turnovers. coach dunton's comments were basically they outrebounded their opponents in puerto rico, but they need to be able to bering the ball up better under pressure. he said that he may have to change some things to help that. coach was very complimentary of anthony smith and his development. he said he talked to the team about adversity, embracing it, and overcoming it. he said the team needs to grow and be tougher, but they responded in a positive way. he said no excuses, and he appreciates everyone's patience. he also said he needs justin holland to get healthy b/c they need him badly. the mc neese game will not be on the the flames sports network. back to work for me.

[Sly Fox]

I'm guessing the locals must've been small based on our numbers on the boards. But I love seeing Anthony start toi come out of his shell offensively. This kid has the skills to put up those type numbers every night once he gets in sync (no cheap boy band reference intended).

Playing three games in about 40 hours is extremely tough. It would've been easy to let this one slip away considering it was essentially a road game. Its great to see the boys kept it together and gutted out a victory. Now they need to enjoy Christmastime before heading down Louisiana where they will be carried to their first D-I victory of the season on the back of vocal support from the Sly Fox family.

[PAmedic]

represent for us bro!

[ATrain]

At least we're undefeated against non-DI teams...

[grmjer]

I think there are positives from this tournament. You expect that comment out of me - but I see a lot of good.

[Sly Fox]

Let's hope Lake Charles is even MORE positive.

[SamFan]

grmjer said:

I think there are positives from this tournament. You expect that comment out of me - but I see a lot of good.

No injuries? Is that the positive?

Playing Miss State close was OK, but they lost to Akron and had to hit a last second shot to beat Holy Cross. So they aren't great. We lost to Mt.St. Mary's who had one win and we didn't exactly kill PR. I'm not trying to be negative, I want us to do well... I'm just keeping it real.

[LUconn]

[PAmedic]

LUconn ROCKS.

just don't change your ID to ConnLU or you're dead to me.

[PAmedic]

in the fine tradition of "LU-spin" or "glass half full" mentality, here's the official take on our stunning victory in PR the other day.

Flames Close Out San Juan Shootout With Victory Over Host Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

December 21, 2005 · Guaynabo, P.R.

Strong openings in both the first and second halves propelled the Flames to a 74-60 victory over host Puerto Rico – Mayaguez in the seventh place game of the San Juan Shootout, Wednesday morning, at the Mario Morales Coliseum.

Anthony Smith (Fr., G, Plano, Texas) took a pass from Larry Blair (Jr., G, Charlotte, N.C.) just eight seconds into the contest, while a dunk and another three-pointer by the freshman gave the Flames an 8-2 lead at the 18:25 mark.

The Flames pushed their lead to as much as 11 points, 18-7, on a lay-up by Blair five minutes later, but UPR–Mayaguez turned things around as the host team outscored the Flames 18-7 over the next seven minutes of action and tied the game at 25-25 on a lay-up by Pedro Colon at the 6:12 mark.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth over the next four minutes until Paul Arroyo nailed a three-pointer with 2:13 left to play before the break to give UPR–Mayaguez a three-point lead, 34-31. Damien Hubbard (Jr., F, Boyce, Va.) converted on one of two free throw attempts just 50 seconds later, while Eric Bigby (Jr., F, Meade, Va.) pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back as the buzzer sounded to knot the score at 34-34 at the break.

As in the first half, Liberty started off strong to open up the second as a three-pointer by Hubbard capped off an 8-1 run to give the Flames a 42-35 lead with 17:25 left to play. Back-to-back lay-ups by Mario Mihalik and Williset Del Valle trimmed the lead back to three points, but the Flames scored 13 of the game’s next 18 points to open up a double-digit lead on a jumper by Smith at the 11:25 mark.

UPR–Mayaguez was able to trim the lead back to single digits on a few different occasions, including on a three-pointer by Loarnel Rosario with 5:10 left to play to cut the lead to 66-58, but the Flames outscored UPR–Mayaguez, 8-2, over the rest of the contest to seal the victory.

“We were able to battle through some adversity today and come out with a victory,” commented Liberty head coach Randy Dunton. “I think we had a good start to both the first and second halves and we were able to grind through the rest of the contest against a very motivated host team.”

“We came here and outrebounded and outshot all three of our opponents and there are certainly several positives to take away from an event like this. We have a very young team and positive stats like these will help us as we head into conference play.”

Four of Liberty’s five starters finished in double figures with Smith leading the way as he poured in 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, while adding six rebounds. Hubbard followed with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, while Blair and Russell Monroe (So., C, Alma, Mich.) followed with 13 and 12 points each.

Arroyo and Mihalik both came off the bench to lead UPR–Mayaguez with 12 points each, while Pedro Colon added nine points and five rebounds.

The Flames finished the contest with their third-straight game in which they outrebounded their opponent, including a 45-28 edge against UPR–Mayaguez, while Liberty eclipsed the 40 percent mark from the field for the seventh-straight game by shooting 45.5 percent from the floor (30-of-66) against the host school.

The contest marked the Flames’ final game before the brief Christmas Break as Liberty will return to the court when they conclude a five-game road swing with a December 29th game in Lake Charles, La., against McNeese State. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (EST) at Burton Coliseum.

[PAmedic]

The Flames finished the contest with their third-straight game in which they outrebounded their opponent, including a 45-28 edge against UPR–Mayaguez, while Liberty eclipsed the 40 percent mark from the field for the seventh-straight game by shooting 45.5 percent from the floor (30-of-66) against the host school.

yes, but WE LOST all the other games! YEESH
just once I'd love to log on and read "the Flames played like crap and lost. hopefully Coach D will whip their butts at the next practice and get them to start winning."

ANYWAY- at least Anthony Smith played well- that brings some encouragment for the rest of the season.


Anthony Smith led the Flames
with 16 points in their 74-60
victory over host UPR–Mayaguez
to close out action at the
San Juan Shootout.

[PAmedic]

LU men top San Juan Shootout host

From staff reports
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 22, 2005

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico - Liberty University's men's basketball team started the first and second halves strongly in the seventh-place game of the San Juan Shootout to defeat tournament host Puerto Rico?Mayaguez 74-60, Wednesday morning at the Mario Morales Coliseum.
Anthony Smith, who led all scorers with 16 points, recorded Liberty's first eight points, on two 3-pointers and a dunk, as the Flames opened an early 8-2 lead.

They pushed the lead to 18-7 on a layup by Larry Blair five minutes later before UPR?Mayaguez turned the tables on LU, outscoring them 18-7 over the next seven minutes to knot the game at 25-25 on a layup by Pedro Colon. The first half ended tied at 34-34 after Liberty's Eric Bigby's putback beat the buzzer.

The Flames opened the second half on fire as Damien Hubbard (15 points) hit a 3-pointer to cap an 8-1 run that propelled LU to a 42-35 lead. Back-to-back lay-ups by Mario Mihalik and Williset Del Valle trimmed the lead back to three points, but the Flames scored 13 of the game's next 18 points to open up an 11-point advantage on a jumper by Smith at the 11:25 mark.

UPR?Mayaguez cut the lead to 66-58 on a 3-pointer by Loarnel Rosario, but the Flames went on one final 8-2 run to close the scoring and seal the victory.

"We were able to battle through some adversity today and come out with a victory ? against a very motivated host team," Liberty head coach Randy Dunton said. "We came here and out rebounded and outshot all three of our opponents."

Blair, Liberty's lone selection to the all-tournament team, and Russell Monroe netted 13 and 12 points, respectively, with Monroe grabbing seven rebounds and Bigby nine before fouling out.

Paul Arroyo and Mihalik came off the bench to lead UPR?Mayaguez with 12 points each, while Colon added nine points and five rebounds.

[eddantes]

pamedic said:

LU men top San Juan Shootout host

From staff reports
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 22, 2005

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico -

Staff reports? What, they wouldn't shell out the money to send our boy Chris Lang to Puerto Rico?

[Sly Fox]

I'm sure Chris did his best sales job. HE needs to work on his pitches.

Although I must admit I couldn't talk my way into going to Pasadena to see the Horns beat the Trojans. I covered UT through some of the embarassing Mackovic seasons and the early Mack Brown seasons. Just as they finally reached the elite of football once again I move to Houston. Oh well.

[SamFan]

pamedic said:

in the fine tradition of "LU-spin" or "glass half full" mentality, here's the official take on our stunning victory in PR the other day.

First it's Debbie Downer when someone is negative, then its "Yeesh" when the SI people are positive. You people on this board are jackals.

[PAmedic]

You people on this board are jackals.

at least you used an "L" in there. I've been called worse. And my point is: being positive is one thing- my recollection of "official" news outlets, incl the Champion, was that all info was rather one-sided in nature. That does not appear to have changed.

Fair and balanced is what we're going for here. Present news honestly. IMHO, that is.

[Sly Fox]

The Champion is owned by the University thus it has no capability of being objective. Its purpose is to train students while representing the school in a positive light. As long as that is known up front, I have no problem with The Champion or the official LU Athletics site toeing the company line.