Game 13 - Liberty

Game #13 - Liberty Flames
Conference: Big South
Location: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC
Date: Monday, December 31th
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Series:  tied at 1-1
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
TV: none
Live Video: Catamount All Access



Liberty head coach Dale Layer enters his fourth season with the Flames, and returns only two of his top five scorers from last season – John Caleb Sanders and Tavares Speaks.  This will be the third meeting between the Catamounts and Flames, with each team looking to pick up a win in the rubber match.

The Liberty Flames were selected to finish fourth in the Big South's  North Division for the 2012-13 season. Liberty is coming off a 14-18 season, finishing fifth in last year's conference standings. This season, Liberty is 3-10 overall, with wins over Div III Southern Virginia and NAIA's  Milligan College, and Union College (NAIA). The Flames do not have a Division I win thus far this season. 

The Flames are currently led in scoring by junior Davon Marshall (guard / 5-11 / 170) with 12.1 ppg and junior John Caleb Sanders (guard / 6-0 / 180) with 9.8 ppg and  4 rebounds per game. Sanders scored a career high 24 points against Milligan in the Flames last outing. Marshall is first in the Big South in three-pointers per game, averaging nearly three per contest. Junior JR Coronado (forward / 6-8 / 245) leds the Flames in rebounding this season, with 8.5 per game and is ranked third among Big South players in rebounding.

Liberty is averaging 63.3 points per game on the season, shooting 40.9% from the field, while averaging 7.7 three pointers per game and averaging 15.9 turnovers per game. Liberty is tops among Big South squads in three-point field goal defense, forcing opponents to shoot 28.6 percent from long range and remain 11th in the nation in three-point field goal defense.

Redshirt junior Joel Vander Pol (center / 6-10/ 230) has returned to the Liberty lineup after missing the first 9 games of the season, he is currently averaging about 10 minutes per game since his return.  At this point in his development for this season, I do not expect Vander Pol to be a difference maker for the Flames in this game. However, playing in his fifth contest since returning to the Flames' lineup, Joel Vander Pol scored a season-high 12 points and a career-high 11 boards against Liberty's last opponent, Union College (NAIA) last Friday night in Lynchburg, VA.


Liberty Game Notes 

Join the conversation and leave a comment below