Liberty University forecast on target

Anyone who looked at Liberty’s roster and the Flames’ early-season schedule could see something like this coming. Maybe not to this degree. But with games against George Mason, Clemson, Old Dominion, Notre Dame and Northwestern on the docket in the first two weeks, and Liberty working with a roster that featured 11 freshmen and sophomores, there was little doubt that the Flames were in for some tough times early.

Liberty sophomore guard Jesse Sanders didn’t share that view. But after a second straight humbling home defeat, this one a 73-41 loss to Old Dominion on Thursday night, Sanders began to see what others had seen before the season started.

“My mentality is that I wanted to prove everybody wrong, what they were saying on the outside,“ Sanders said. “And that’s what’s frustrating. This is what everybody predicted. I was frustrated when they predicted that because I think we’re better. And I’m frustrated because we’re not showing it. I’m not, and the team’s not.”

To be fair, no one predicted that it would be this bad. But then again, the two opponents the Flames welcomed to the Vines Center this week were probably the best back-to-back foes to ever visit Lynchburg. Against 22nd-ranked Clemson on Tuesday morning, Liberty didn’t break the 30-point mark until less than six minutes remained.

The opponent changed Thursday, but the results didn’t. At halftime, Liberty had as many points as turnovers (14), and like Tuesday, the game was essentially decided in the first eight minutes. Kent Bazemore’s dunk with 13:21 left in the first half put the Monarchs (3-0) ahead 16-4, and ODU extended the lead to 29-6 on another Bazemore bucket with 4:56 left.

Liberty (1-3) didn’t break the 10-point mark until 3:29 remained in the half, and it narrowly avoided becoming the first Flames team to fail to break 40 points in consecutive games.

“They’re really good,” Liberty coach Dale Layer said. “This is a top-30 program. They’re better than 300 teams in the country. I said that the other night, and I’ll say it again Sunday (when Liberty faces Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.).

“(ODU) is really good. We’re really young. It is what it is.”

For the first time in school history, Liberty lost by 30 or more points in consecutive home games. The Flames’ third- and sixth-worst offensive showings in school history came during this brief homestand, and the results left the Flames, who shot 27.7 percent and committed 18 turnovers, scrambling for answers.

“It’s too early in the season to start reaching out in desperation,” Sanders said. “But we’ve got to get something figured out on offense. We’ve got to get some kind of efficiency, some kind of cohesiveness between the players. We have very little right now.”

That wasn’t an issue for the Monarchs, who have won each of their first three games by 30-plus points. On 31 made field goals, ODU had 23 assists, led by seven from Darius James. The Monarchs shot 50.8 from the floor and had no problem finding an offensive rhythm. Keyon Carter, a reserve who was averaging 5.0 points per game, led ODU with 17 points. His 3-pointer with 16:37 left in the second half put ODU up 45-14, and Carter himself up 17-14 on the Flames.

If the score wasn’t bad enough for the Flames, Liberty suffered another major blow with 5:34 left in the first half when forward Tyler Baker injured his right knee trying to make a spin move in the post. He immediately fell to the floor in anguish, grasping the knee. Athletics trainers helped him off the floor to the locker room, and when he returned, his leg was in a splint.

Layer said he feared that Baker had torn either his ACL or MCL, which would be a devastating blow for a player who has battled ankle and foot injuries his entire career. Baker will know more about the extent of the injury after undergoing an MRI exam today.

Said Layer: “It breaks my heart. He’s really, really worked. He’s a great kid. He’s had no good fortune since the day he walked on campus. He deserves much better.”

DRIBBLES: Kyle Ohman led Liberty with 17 points. … The Flames made more free throws (14) than field goals (13). … ODU outrebounded the Flames 42-28. … Freshman Patrick Konan started in place of another freshman, Chris Perez. … Bill Weaver’s basket with 1:22 left put the Flames over the 40-point mark.

OLD DOMINION (3-0)

Lee 1-6 2-3 4, Hassell 0-1 0-0 0, James 3-6 0-0 6, Neely 5-10 0-1 11, Finney 3-6 0-0 7, Wright 2-5 0-0 4, Iliadis 2-5 0-0 6, Cooper 4-7 0-3 8, De Lancey 0-1 2-2 2, Bazemore 4-6 0-0 8, Carter 7-8 0-0 17. Totals 31-61 4-9 73.

LIBERTY (1-3)

Baker 0-1 0-0 0, Ohman 5-21 7-7 17, Konan 1-5 4-4 6, Minaya 2-5 0-0 4, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Perez 0-0 0-2 0, Spencer 0-1 0-0 0, Gordon 2-6 3-5 7, Anderson 1-4 0-0 3, Burrus 0-0 0-0 0, Weaver 2-2 0-0 4, McMasters 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-47 14-18 41.

Halftime—Old Dominion 35-14. 3-Point Goals—Old Dominion 7-17 (Carter 3-3, Iliadis 2-5, Finney 1-3, Neely 1-4, James 0-1, Bazemore 0-1), Liberty 1-15 (Anderson 1-4, Spencer 0-1, Konan 0-1, Minaya 0-2, Gordon 0-3, Ohman 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Old Dominion 42 (Lee 8), Liberty 28 (Gordon 7). Assists—Old Dominion 23 (James 7), Liberty 4 (Sanders 2). Total Fouls—Old Dominion 20, Liberty 13. A—2,013.