Jerry Falwell may believe that Liberty is “the world’s most exciting university,” but the Flames basketball team didn’t live up to that title Monday night in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern’s performance wasn’t thrilling, either, but it was good enough to roll over the Flames (2-8) for a 66-49 victory in front of a paid attendance of 3,220. NU (7-1) now has the best nonconference record in the Big Ten.
“I thought we did a pretty good job. We had lively legs,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “The last 10 minutes spoiled things a little bit.”
The Wildcats played tenacious defense, forcing Liberty to commit 15 turnovers by halftime, and ran the Princeton offense with great success during a 16-2 run over a seven-minute span in the first half, more than tripling the Flames’ score at 37-12.
But NU played sloppy basketball in the second half, committing 12 turnovers of their own and shooting just 39 percent from the field. Liberty outscored the Cats 35-29 in the final 20 minutes.
“I was thankful that in the second half we didn’t get absolutely embarrassed, because we had some alums from the area at the game,” Liberty coach Mel Hankinson said. “But you can’t choose a half.”
NU shot 12 for 27 from behind the arc in the game, including four successful attempts by junior forward Winston Blake, who was second on the team with 12 points. Fellow Texas native and junior Jason Burke led the Cats in scoring with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
Burke was in the starting lineup because of a shoulder injury to freshman Vedran Vukusic, who will be out of action for about two weeks, according to Carmody. Vukusic reinjured his right shoulder in NU’s 58-55 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Jitim Young, who leads NU in scoring, sat down with 13 minutes left in the first half after committing his second foul, forcing senior Collier Drayton and sophomore Drew Long to lead the attack. Both responded well to the challenge. Drayton had four steals, three in the first half, and Long hit two three-pointers while Young was on the bench.
“I’m getting better adjusted to being out on the floor,” said Long, who sat out most of the 2000-2001 season because of a foot injury. “I can pick and choose my spots. It feels good to be out there.”
Long had eight points and four rebounds in 23 minutes of play. Young was held to nine points, his first game this season not scoring in double digits.
All three guards helped to maintain Liberty’s Chris Caldwell, who came into the game leading the team in scoring with 14 points per game. Caldwell had just nine points against the Cats on 4-of-15 shooting. The Flames were led by Philip Ward’s 10 points and Jason Sarchet’s game-high 11 rebounds.
Senior forward Tavaras Hardy, who was active under the rim against the undersized Liberty squad, notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We are a program under construction,” Hankinson said, pointing out that his team has eight underclassmen on its roster.
Liberty was founded in 1971 by Falwell, a religious activist, who remains the current university chancellor. In the Liberty media guide, Falwell calls himself Liberty’s “number-one fan,” but he did not attend Monday’s game.
NU returns to action Saturday against Fordham (2-4) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Burke especially is looking forward to the game — he grew up a fan of Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller, who has had several legendary performances at the “Garden.”
The Cats will be trying to extend a six-game winning streak, their longest since the beginning of the 1997-98 season. Fordham lost to No. 21 Marquette in its last game, but the Rams host Delaware State on Wednesday in hopes of gaining momentum for their showdown with the Cats.
“We’re on the right track,” Burke said of the NU’s postseason hopes this season. “The sky’s the limit.”
