Curry hot in Flames’ blowout

It took Seth Curry all of 14 seconds to endear himself to Liberty’s fan base Friday night. That’s when he pulled up and hit his first jumper. Thirty-eight seconds later, Curry drilled a 3-pointer. At that second, it was clear that all of the hype surrounding his arrival at Liberty was justified.
Curry finished with 23 points as the Flames routed NAIA member Montreat 97-77 at the Vines Center.
Curry’s debut added buzz to an otherwise mundane season opener against an overmatched opponent. Among the 5,198 in attendance were Curry’s parents — former Virginia Tech and NBA standout Dell and mother Sonya.
“Seth’s a really, really good player,” Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said. “He’s a tremendous person who is really well liked by his teammates. I expected him to do well.”
Curry also had seven steals, tying a Vines Center record.
The game itself featured little drama. Six and a half minutes into the game, Liberty (1-0) led 15-3. Just about every member of Liberty’s ballyhooed freshman class got into the action.
Curry, Jesse Sanders and Brolin Floyd started alongside junior Kyle Ohman and senior Anthony Smith, the Big South preseason player of the year. Floyd showed flashes of his inside-out game. He drew contact in the paint and earned five trips to the free-throw line in the first half and hit two 3-pointers.
Sanders, who started at point guard, distributed the ball well and showed hustle going for rebounds. Carter McMasters, a 6-foot-11 center, hit a 10-foot jumper from the left baseline after taking a pass from a penetrating Curry.
Smith led the Flames with 25 points and nine rebounds, just shy of his fourth career double-double. Smith moved past Eric Gordon into 15th on Liberty’s all-time scoring list.
Ohman scored 14 points and Floyd added 13. M.J. Njoku led Montreat with a game-high 26 points.
Montreat (1-2) made a brief run late in the first half. The Cavaliers went on a 9-2 run to cut Liberty’s lead from 32-15 to 34-24. Sparked by Floyd, Liberty scored the next 10 points to push the lead to 44-24. Floyd hit two free throws and a 3-pointer during the run.
Every Flame who played scored. Liberty forward Tyler Baker, who played just 10 minutes last season while battling a stress fracture in his foot, didn’t dress Friday night. His status for Tuesday’s game at UNC Asheville is uncertain. The Flames’ Big South opener against the Bulldogs will be nationally televised by ESPN.
as part of the network’s college hoops marathon.