Liberty meets Stetson in Atlantic Sun semis
Stetson (16-16, 10-7) vs. Liberty (28-4, 14-3)
Atlantic Sun Conference Tourney Semifinals, Vines Center, Lynchburg, Virginia; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: A ticket to the Atlantic Sun championship game is ready to be punched as Stetson and Liberty are set to do battle. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last played on Feb. 22, when the Flames outshot Stetson 50.9 percent to 34.1 percent and recorded six fewer turnovers en route to a 77-49 victory.
SUPER SENIORS: Liberty has relied heavily on its seniors this year. Caleb Homesley, Scottie James, Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz and Myo Baxter-Bell have combined to account for 62 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 72 percent of all Flames points over the last five games.POTENT PERRY: Rob Perry has connected on 43.2 percent of the 155 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 4 for 10 over the last three games. He’s also made 70.1 percent of his free throws this season.
STREAK SCORING: Liberty has won its last 15 home games, scoring an average of 68.7 points while giving up 49.1.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Flames have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Hatters. Liberty has an assist on 37 of 73 field goals (50.7 percent) across its past three contests while Stetson has assists on 35 of 75 field goals (46.7 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Liberty defense has allowed only 53.5 points per game to opponents this season, ranking the Flames second among Division I teams. The Stetson offense has averaged 63.8 points through 32 games (ranked 294th, nationally).