GETTING INSIDE

Guard Jesse Sanders is the only player in Big South history to record two triple-doubles, as he reached the mark a second time in Liberty’s rout of NAIA Kentucky Christian Dec. 12.

Sanders will always be a threat to record triple-doubles because of his uncanny ability to rebound. He’s a physical, aggressive rebounder who isn’t afraid to mix it up in the paint for loose balls. At 5.8 rebounds per game through Dec. 28, he leads all Flames.

The 6-foot-3 Sanders already has two double-digit rebound games this season, grabbing 11 against Mississippi Valley State and 10 against Kentucky Christian. If there’s an area where he’d struggle to reach double digits, it would be in scoring.

Sanders is a true point guard who is counted on mostly as a distributor. He also likes to drive to the basket and draw contact, and he’s attempted six free throws in a game four times this season.

Sanders was one of the league’s best distributors last season as a freshman, when he had star Seth Curry and senior Anthony Smith by his side. It’s taken him some time to get used to a cast this season.

After failing to hit the five-assist mark in his first four games, Sanders had hit that number five times in the last 12.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Liberty’s Dec. 19 game against NAIA Houghton College was canceled due to a massive snowstorm that hit Lynchburg the night before. Houghton was in town before the blizzard hit, but roads in the central Virginia city were impassable and fans and game personnel couldn’t safely get to the Vines Center. The game will not be made up.

• The Flames have never started 2-0 in Big South play in school history. They had a chance to do it this year but lost 73-58 at home to Coastal Carolina Dec. 5.

January At A Glance:   The Flames will play both games with rival VMI in January and plays five conference road games, with the toughest coming at Winthrop and Radford, places Liberty hasn’t had much success at of late. Liberty did win its last game at Radford, knocking off the Highlanders in the regular-season finale at the Dedmon Center last season.

Quote To Note:   “It had been 18 months since I had played in a competitive game. It took a little while to get comfortable. It’s just getting back into a rhythm. When you’re out for that long, you forget how fast the came is at the college level. You can do certain things, and you can’t do certain things. It’s just getting used to the speed of the game.”—G Jeremy Anderson in the Lynchburg News & Advance. Anderson missed half of his freshman year and all of last year with foot injuries.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Season Recap:   Liberty was simply too young to handle what was scheduled in November. The Flames played eight games, and the schedule was made with Seth Curry in mind. Curry is at Duke now, and the young Flames were left to play games against Clemson, George Mason, Old Dominion, Notre Dame and Northwestern. Predictably, they lost all five. Liberty got healthy against easier competition and enters a tournament at Central Florida Dec. 29 having won five of its last six games.

Player Rotation:   Usual Starters—F Patrick Konan, G Evan Gordon, G Kyle Ohman, C Carter McMasters, G Jesse Sanders. Key Subs—F Antwan Burrus, G David Minaya, G Chris Perez, G Johnny Stephene, G Jeremy Anderson.

Game Review:  

Liberty 99, Kentucky Christian 39

Liberty 70, Shawnee State 45

Houghton at Liberty, canceled

Game Preview:  

at Central Florida, Tuesday, Dec. 29

vs. Buffalo or Jacksonville, Wednesday, Dec. 30

at VMI, Saturday, Jan. 2

at Presbyterian, Thursday, Jan. 7

at Winthrop, Saturday, Jan. 9

In Focus:   Liberty has yet to win a road game this season, and the Flames lost to Presbyterian last year in double overtime in Clinton, S.C. Though Presbyterian is struggling with the youngest team in the country, the Blue Hose are dangerous at home, holding a huge lead over league favorite Radford before losing. This won’t be an easy win for a young Liberty team, but it’s the sort of game the Flames need to win if they want to vie for a Big South tournament home game.

Roster Report  

• G Kyle Ohman is 92 points shy of 1,000 for his career, as of Dec. 28.

• Liberty signed two players in the early signing period—G John Caleb Sanders (6-0) and F Stephen Baird (6-8, 190). Sanders is the younger brother of current Flames PG Jesse Sanders.

• C Carter McMasters is doing his best to emulate Denver Nuggets forward Chris Andersen, aka “The Birdman.” Before games, the tall, skinny McMasters puts a load of gel in his hair to make it stand up straight and wears a headband. He also wears his socks all the way to his knees. The only thing McMasters is missing is Andersen’s sheath of tattoos.