LYNCHBURG, Va. — Liberty went toe-to-toe with one of the nation’s best in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma State. Liberty hung with the Cowboys all night, but turnovers plagued the Flames, as the Cowboys defeated Liberty 69-60, Friday night at the Farmers Coliseum. Liberty ends the season with a 23-6 overall record.
Both teams felt the NCAA Tournament jitters as both Liberty and Oklahoma State committed four turnovers in the first four minutes of the game. Blake Preston provided Liberty some offense to start the game, making the team’s first four points. Liberty would go on an 8-0 run sparked by Darius McGhee scoring five of those points to take its first lead of the ball game (12-8). Liberty’s biggest lead of the half was five points and would hold onto the lead for the final 13 minutes and 54 seconds, leading Oklahoma State 30-27 at the break. McGhee led Liberty with eight points while Avery Anderson III led all scorers with 14 points. Liberty was able to hold Cade Cunningham to just one point in the first half, shooting 0-5 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line.
Oklahoma State retook the lead less than two minutes into the half and was able to jump out to an eight-point lead (47-39), with 12:23 left in the game. Liberty struggled throughout the half on offense, shooting 35 percent from the field. Elijah Cuffee did his best to keep the Flames in the game, scoring 11 points in the second half. With just under six minutes left in the game, Oklahoma State held its largest lead of the game (56-47) and Liberty was able to keep it within single-digits but never closer than four points as the Cowboys pulled out the win. Cunningham led all scorers in the second half with 14 points.
Key Stats & Notes
- Elijah Cuffee’s 16 points is a career-high in the NCAA Tournament.
- Cuffee ends his Liberty career with a 104-32 record.
- Cuffee concludes his career with 981 career points, 335 rebounds and 265 assists.
- Oklahoma State’s 27 first half points was the second fewest in a half this season.
- Darius McGhee moved to No. 42 on Liberty’s all-time rebounding list with 160 career rebounds.
- Liberty committed a season-high 18 turnovers.
- Liberty shot 37.5 percent from the field while OSU shot 40.4 percent.
- Oklahoma State outscored Liberty 32-26 inside the paint.
- Liberty had four players score double figures led by Cuffee’s 16 points.
Thoughts from Head Coach Ritchie McKay
“Congratulations to Oklahoma State, that is a really good basketball team with a special player. They did a great job of making it really hard for us but proud of our group, the way they represented our program, our university and tonight wasn’t quite our night.”
