LU's Minaya capitalizes on G-W's double-team of Burrus

For Liberty guard David Minaya to get comfortable again with his jumper, he had to step a little bit out of his comfort zone Thursday night at the Vines Center. That meant getting inside, posting up and hitting layups, all things he is capable of doing, but also things that haven’t been a regular part of his game this season.

Gardner-Webb gave him an opening. Because GWU double-teamed LU forward Antwan Burrus, Minaya was able to get free in the post. Once he hit a couple of easy buckets, his jumper got going, and so did the Flames. Minaya scored all 16 of his points after halftime, helping the Flames to a 63-58 victory, their third in their last four games.

Minaya missed his first eight shots, including a desperation heave at the buzzer at the end of the first half. But once he found his stroke, he couldn’t miss. He hit his last six shots and all four of his free throws.

"The first half was about as bad as David can play," Liberty coach Dale Layer said. "That second half was about as good as he can play. He responded the right way. I’m proud of Dave. He had some good looks in the first half but they just didn’t drop. But he kept battling."

Gardner-Webb (10-14, 5-7 Big South) took its biggest lead six minutes into the second half when Max Landis hit a 3-pointer to put the Runnin’ Bulldogs up 33-29. Minaya still hadn’t hit a field goal at that point, but he bulled his away underneath the basket in space freed by the double team on Burrus. He posted up and scored, and after a Gardner-Webb miss, Minaya scored again, sparking the Flames (9-15, 4-8).

Minaya’s bucket with 10:40 left gave Liberty the lead for good.

"It always helps when you see the ball going in the basket," Minaya said. "I got those free throws to drop. I got the two layups. Once you see the lid broken off, then everything started coming to me."

Burrus, the Flames’ second most efficient player behind point guard Jesse Sanders, never got going thanks to Gardner-Webb’s suffocating defense. The Bulldogs never wavered in their strategy, double-teaming every touch. Burrus finished with five points, four rebounds, four fouls and three turnovers and went just 2-for-8 from the floor.

"That’s a compliment to him," said Sanders, who finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. "They didn’t feel like they could guard him with one guy. Twan has established himself as one of the best post players in the league. That’s something we haven’t seen. In my four years at Liberty, we’ve never had to deal with doubling down in the post.

"In the long run, that’s going to help everybody. When they’re doubling on him, they’re leaving a shooter open."

At times, that shooter was Minaya. At others, it was John Caleb Sanders, who drilled four 3-pointers, including one in the second half on which he drifted to the left and shot out of rhythm. The Flames’ outside shooting helped them to a 25-22 halftime lead. Liberty hit five 3s in the first half and only four 2s.

Liberty’s offensive surge coincided with Minaya’s. The Flames scored on six straight possessions to build a 10-point lead with 7:07 to play. Later in the half, they scored on four straight possessions to take another 10-point lead with 3:48 left. Liberty shot 56.5 percent in the second half.

"I don’t think we’re tough enough defensively right now," Gardner-Webb coach Chris Holtmann said. "We’re not tough enough or smart enough right now to defend on the road the way we need to."

The Bulldogs made one final surge, cutting the Liberty lead to 59-56 with 37 seconds left on a basket from Tashan Newsome, who led GWU with 21 points. The Bulldogs tried to force a turnover with full-court defense after the basket. Liberty called two timeouts before finally getting the ball to half court, where Tyler Strange fouled Jesse Sanders, who hit both free throws to put the game away.

With the win, Liberty pulled within two games of VMI for sixth place in the Big South. The top six teams get a bye into the conference tournament quarterfinals.

"Let me give Dale, his staff and players a tremendous amount of credit," Holtmann said. "They’ve been able to right the ship. A lot of credit goes to his leadership. When you have injuries and the frustration that they’ve had, he’s had the poise and direction to lead his team. A lot of credit to him for what he’s done."