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LYNCHBURG, Va.. _ The top two scorers in the ASUN Conference will be on the same floor Saturday night when the Liberty Flames host the University of Central Arkansas Bears.
The second matchup between the Bears and Flames tips of at 6 p.m. (CT) at Liberty Arena.
Liberty senior guard Darius McGhee leads the conference in scoring at 20.8 points per game, while UCA sophomore
Camren Hunter is second at 17.3 per game. McGhee has the top individual scoring game of the season with 36 points against Grambling. Hunter is coming off the third-best outing of the season with 33 points at Queens on Thursday night.
The Flames are 13-5 overall and 4-1 in ASUN play, in a three-way tie for second place behind Stetson. UCA (6-12, 1-4) beat Queens 92-91 to earn its first ASUN victory on Thursday.
Liberty is 10-1 at home at Liberty Arena this season, including 3-0 in conference games. Their only league loss was at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday when the Colonels held the Flames to 59 points, 16 below their season average. Six of the home victories were against Regent, North Carolina Central, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Virginia-Lynchburg, Bryant and Mid-Atlantic Christian.
UCA's victory at Queens was its first true road victory of the season, one in which the Bears made a season-high 15 three pointers and shot 48.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Liberty won the only other meeting between the programs last season, beating the Bears 85-66 at the Farris Center. The Flames shot 55.7 percent from the field, including 61.3 percent in the second half. McGhee scored 34 points, with 27 overall attempts and 16 three-point attempts. UCA was led by
Collin Cooper's 17 points and four three-pointers. Ironically, Cooper has missed all five ASUN games this season due to injury.
UCA got true freshman Johannes KIrsipuu and sophomore
Elias Cato back from injuries against Queens, with Kirsipuu scoring 14 points and hitting three three-pointers and Cato getting 6 points and 7 rebounds.
The Bears will complete a three-game road swing Saturday before returning home to the Farris Center on Wednesday against North Alabama.
The Bears and Flames will be carried live on The Bear 91.3, 92.7 Jack FM and ESPN+.
