NCAAB Game Recap - Liberty at Vanderbilt
Sat Dec 14, 2019 8:00 PM EST

E KY
67
Lou
99
F
UMKC
57
Kansas
98
F
Oreg
71
Mich
70
F(OT)
Gonz
84
Ariz
80
F
GaTec
53
KY
67
F
StLou
61
Aub
67
F
Mem
51
Tenn
47
F
Drake
47
Dayt
78
F
MSU
72
Oakl
49
F
South
41
Butl
66
F
Del
70
Vill
78
F
Seton
48
Rut
68
F
Xav
78
Wake
80
F
KSU
61
MissSt
67
F
IPFW
65
IUPUI
74
F
App
81
How
59
F
Syr
79
GTown
89
F
Princ
80
FaDi
65
F
Dart
76
Boston
78
F
(N/A)
60
Elon
91
F
Tuls
79
Ark
98
F
Nich
57
WVU
83
F
NJIT
71
StFNY
73
F
TN-M
72
UNCA
91
F
(N/A)
79
JU
93
F
IL-C
65
DeP
86
F
HolyC
72
Canis
80
F
CenMI
76
Tex
87
F
LIU
74
Rider
89
F
Duques
71
Radf
49
F
Bama
71
PSU
73
F
AlaAM
74
Mia-FL
88
F
Morg
68
LaSal
85
F
Merrim
63
Hartfo
71
F
NCC
71
CoCar
91
F
Army
89
Buff
76
F
UCLA
61
ND
75
F
Lamar
50
TCU
79
F
AF
79
Denv
75
F
NFla
72
USM
69
F
MTSU
64
Miss
82
F
Toled
80
Detr
72
F
Web
49
Utah
60
F
UCSB
61
S UT
62
F
(N/A)
50
StBon
75
F
HiPt
64
FAU
81
F
Campbl
67
ECU
79
F
Mayv
60
SDak
96
F
Sac
58
SCla
60
F
USF
91
CS-Ful
69
F
UL
59
LaTec
77
F
Charl
71
Rich
78
F
Winth
73
Furm
80
F
ArkPB
46
OrSt
80
F
ASU
57
Bois
100
F
Okla
75
WichSt
80
F
ODU
55
Ill
69
F
Stan
78
SJSU
58
F
CSBak
70
Ida
76
F(OT)
NMSt
62
NM
69
F
Evans
72
WIGB
62
F
Niag
80
Albany
84
F
W MI
59
Manh
58
F
Colg
67
Cin
66
F
WilBa
59
NOrl
103
F
(N/A)
54
Gram
82
F
CenAR
79
Pepp
92
F
BYU
68
UtSt
64
F
UGA
59
AzSt
79
F
E IL
75
WIMil
68
F
Lib
61
Vand
56
F
HCU
84
Rice
96
F
(N/A)
57
ORU
69
F
Stony
78
Prov
82
F
(N/A)
63
UAB
75
F
N CO
74
Wyo
53
F
ULM
59
SFA
66
F
NoAZ
79
UtVal
73
F
Fres
62
CAPoly
37
F
BethC
68
CBU
87
F
UCDav
54
USD
58
F
(N/A)
63
UCIrv
120
F
StMar
89
Cal
77
F

Dec 14, 2019, 8:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Liberty

27

34

61

Vanderbilt

32

24

56

Baxter-Bell scores 18, Liberty upsets Vanderbilt 61-56
Sat Dec 14, 2019 11:39 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Liberty coach Ritchie McKay doesn’t necessarily want to be undefeated, but he admits he likes some of the rewards it has brought his team so far this season.

“Being undefeated is great because you get a little bit of attention from it, but it wasn’t one of our goals as we set out this season,” McKay said after his team upset Vanderbilt (6-3) on the road Saturday night to improve to 12-0 on the season. It’s the best start in Liberty basketball history. “In an environment like this against some of the talent that Vandy has, that’s a really good win for our program.”

McKay also knows that this kind of a win can give his team a boost.

“I especially thought (with our play) in the second half you can put a deposit in the confidence bank after being able to come out with a victory here.”

Liberty held Vanderbilt to 23% shooting in the second half, allowing only 6 of 26 shots to fall.

Myo Baxter-Bell came off the bench for the Flames to score a team-leading 18 points.

“It was a long night,” Baxter-Bell said. “Shots weren’t falling, but that’s what we play defense for and that’s how we stayed in it.”

Caleb Homesley scored 14 and Elijah Cuffee added 13 for Liberty.

Aaron Nesmith threw in a game-high 19 points for Vanderbilt. Saben Lee scored 16. Nesmith (22.8) and Lee (17.4) entered the game as the second-highest scoring duo in the nation.

Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse was disappointed his team couldn’t come away with a victory.

“This was a winnable game for us and it’s going to sting a little bit,” he said.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair with the teams swapping the lead seven times. Liberty took the lead for good at 51-50 with 3:07 left on a layup by Cuffee.

Vanderbilt went cold from the field down the stretch and did not hit a field goal for 6:15 until Lee made a layup with 7 seconds left and hit a 3 at the buzzer to end the game.

Vanderbilt finished the first half on an 11-0 run. Over the last 2:56, the Commodores got 3-pointers from Dylan Disu, Lee and Nesmith. Nesmith’s 3 broke a 27-all tie with 15 seconds left, then Scotty Pippen Jr. threw a perfect alley-oop pass from beyond the arc to Lee at the buzzer to give Vanderbilt a 32-27 lead at the break.

It was the first time the Flames have trailed at the half this year.

BIG PICTURE

Liberty: Scottie James pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for Liberty.

Vanderbilt: Lee was coming off a career-high 25 points in Vandy’s last game, a 90-76 win over Buffalo on Dec. 3. The point tally earned him the Southeastern Conference player of the week award.

OTHER STATS

Liberty: The Flames were a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line.

Vanderbilt: The Commodores held Liberty to 42% from the field (22 of 53) but only managed to shoot 35% themselves (18-for-51).

UP NEXT

Liberty faces Towson in the DC Hoops Tournament on Friday.

Vanderbilt plays Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday in Phoenix at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

Liberty PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
M. Baxter-Bell 18 0 0 5 1 0
C. Homesley 14 0 0 2 0 0
Vanderbilt PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Nesmith 19 0 0 5 1 1
S. Lee 16 0 1 1 2 0

Team Comparison

Lib Vand
Points For 61 56
Field Goals 22/53-42% 18/51-35%
Three Pointers 5/22-23% 7/24-29%
Free Throws 12/12-100% 13/19-68%
Offensive Rebounds 8 5
Defensive Rebounds 31 23
Rebounds 44 29
Blocks 3 7
Steals 5 7
Turnovers 13 11
Personal Fouls 15 15
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2019-20 Reg Season - Lib Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Sat Dec 14 Lib 61 @ Vand 56 M. Baxter-Bell 18 A. Nesmith 19

Game Information

Stadium: Memorial Gym, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 9,045
Game Time: