, which clamped down on defense in the second half to earn the win and a rematch with top-seeded Duke next week. The only other time the Hokies made it this far in the NCAAs came way back in 1967 when they won two games before losing to Dayton in the regional final of a 23-team tournament.Ahmed Hill added 14 points and Justin Robinson scored 13 to help the Hokies beat an in-state rival and advance to face Duke.Darius McGhee scored 15 points to lead Liberty (29-7), which won its first tournament game ever Friday against Mississippi State. Caleb Homesley was held to eight points on 3-for-11 shooting after scoring 30 points to fuel the first-round upset.''They just executed a little bit better than we did,'' Homesley said. ''We executed plays but didn't hit shots. When they executed plays, they hit the shots.'' Liberty looked to build on that breakthrough win and a 9-0 run early in the second half put the Flames up by five. The Hokies tightened up defensively after that and Liberty missed 11 of 12 shots from the field - with six of the misses from 3-point range. Liberty also committed four turnovers and trailed 56-49 after a layup by Nickel Alexander-Walker with about four minutes to go that capped an 11-0 run.After Liberty made one free throw, Hill converted a three-point play off an inbound pass to extend the lead to nine points and the Hokies held on from there.''I'm just excited to be able to play again with these guys,'' Hill said. ''I'm a senior and just all the work that has been put into the program just seems to be pouring out.'' Liberty started fast with McGhee hitting four 3-pointers in the first half - twice as many as he had in the previous seven games combined. The Flames built an eight-point lead in the half before the Hokies cut it to 32-29 at the break on a 3-pointer in the final seconds by Hill.BIG PICTURELiberty: Despite the loss, the season was a success for the Flames. They set a school-record for wins, won the Atlantic Sun tournament in their first year in the conference and won the first tournament game in school history after two losses to No. 1 seeds and another in a play-in game.Virginia Tech: The Hokies made it through the first weekend of the tournament without a big contribution from star point guard Justin Robinson. The school's all-time assists leader returned this week after missing 12 games with a foot injury. He looked a bit rusty in the first game but fared better on Sunday. He shot 5-for-9 and had four assists in 29 minutes, including a key basket late after Liberty had cut the deficit to five points.CLAMPING DOWNAfter making seven 3-pointers in the first half, the Flames went cold. They shot just 3 for 13 from long range and just 27 percent overall in the final 20 minutes.''The first half they shot the ball about as good as you can. We had to make it a little bit tougher for them,'' Hokies forward Ty Outlaw said. ''They are a great team, they earned their spot here just like everybody else. We didn't expect it to be easy. We just knew we had to step it up a little bit.'' UP NEXTVirginia Tech advanced to play No. 1 overall seed Duke in a rematch on Friday in Washington, D. C. The Hokies beat the Blue Devils 77-72 at home on Feb. 26 in a game Duke star freshman Zion Williamson and Robinson both missed with injuries.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Mar 23, 2019Liberty guard Caleb Homesley was one of the heroes of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.The redshirt junior scored a career-high 30 points -- 22 in the second half, 14 in the final seven minutes -- to rally the 12th-seeded Flames to an 80-76 victory over Mississippi State on Friday in an East Region game in San Jose, Calif."I thought it was special," Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said of Homesley's performance. "He took over. He's done that on occasion for us. He's had spurts. ..."When he starts to feel good about his shot, he's such a dangerous offensive player because he can score at all three levels, but he's also a tremendous passer." Homesley won't be the only good guard story Sunday when Liberty (29-6) plays its second-round game against fourth-seeded Virginia Tech.The Hokies (25-8) handled 13th-seeded Saint Louis 66-52 on Friday night, getting a boost of energy from the return of senior point guard Justin Robinson.The school's career assists leader, out since Jan. 30 because of a foot injury, entered with 13:39 left in the first half. He sparked the Hokies with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes."It's hard for me to quantify the peace that I have when 5 is on the floor," said coach Buzz Williams, referring to Robinson's jersey number. "Statistically, I thought he was OK. But when the ball is in his hand, I feel like he is going to make the right decision for Virginia Tech." Robinson wasn't on a minutes restriction. He appeared to be in discomfort at one point late in the second half but said afterward he felt OK."I think the first couple of possessions I was just trying to get my teammates the ball, and throughout the whole game, I just let them carry me," he said on truTV. "I hit a 3 early, and I feel that kind of got my confidence." This second-round matchup will be an all-Virginia affair -- and a rematch of sorts. The teams played an exhibition game on the Liberty campus in Lynchburg on Nov. 4 to benefit hurricane-relief efforts.For what it's worth, Robinson poured in 20 points while Homesley had six as the Hokies won 86-70.Homesley averages 12.5 points, but 6-foot-8 post player Scottie James leads the team at 12.9 points per game. He struggled against Mississippi State's interior length, finishing with six points on 3-of-7 shooting, but Myo Baxter-Bell came off the bench to help.The burly junior -- he's 6-5, 255 pounds -- had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes."Scottie is a really good player, and he felt like he didn't get off to a good start, but that's what teammates are for," Baxter-Bell said. "We pick each other up." Virginia Tech doesn't have the same quantity of tall trees as Mississippi State had, but the Hokies have 6-10 Kerry Blackshear Jr. to lead the battle against James and Baxter-Bell. Blackshear entered the tournament averaging 14.7 points; he scored 15 against the Billikens.Virginia Tech let a 22-point halftime lead get down to 10 against Saint Louis.Liberty trailed Mississippi State by 10 points with seven minutes to go before Homesley and Lovell Cabbil Jr. (18 points) fueled the comeback.Virginia Tech has tied the school record for wins in a season (1994-95, 2009-10) and is the highest seed it has ever been in the NCAA Tournament.Liberty earned its first tourney win in four tries."I don't think that we're done yet," Homesley said. "Our guys believe that whenever we step into a venue that we're going to win the game." --Field Level Media
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