# 2015–16 Liberty Flames basketball team

The 2015–16 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented the Liberty University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the 26th consecutive season at Vines Center, with a capacity of 8,085. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in his third season, but first season since his return to the program. They were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 10–8 in Big South play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament to UNC Asheville.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| David Andoh | 0 | Forward | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Transferred to St. Bonaventure |
| Jordan Dembley | 1 | Guard | 6'1" | 175 | Freshman | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Transferred to Williston State |
| Andrew Smith | 11 | Forward | 6'9" | 220 | Senior | Pompano Beach, Florida | Graduated |
| Tomasz Gielo | 12 | Forward | 6'9" | 220 | Senior | Szczecin, Poland | Transferred to Ole Miss |
| James Johnson | 13 | Forward | 6'10" | 245 | Senior | San Diego, California | Graduated |
| Ethan Layer | 15 | Guard | 6'1" | 160 | Junior | Forest, Virginia | Graduated |
| Joe Retic | 23 | Guard | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | Indianapolis, Indiana | Transferred to Indianapolis |
| Peter Moller | 31 | Guard | 6'3" | 185 | Freshman | Vaerloese, Denmark | Transferred to Metro State |

## 2015–16 Newcomers

John Dawson, originally from Clovis, New Mexico, transferred from Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball in January and will be eligible to play in after the 2015 fall semester.
Anthony Fields, originally from Detroit, Michigan, graduated from Bradley and will be eligible immediately. Fields started his career at Wake Forest before transferring to Bradley. He averaged 1.2 points per game last season for the Braves. Fields will be a senior.
Hansel Atencia, originally from Colombia, played his high school basketball at Mountain Mission High in Grundy, Virginia. He averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game during his senior year.
Lovell Cabbil, originally from Arlington, Texas, played at Mansfield Summit high school where he averaged 23 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steal per game his senior year.
Myo Baxter-Bell, originally from Dayton, Ohio, played at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High school where he averaged 14 points, 6 rebounds and shot 73% from the free throw line his senior year.
Caleb Homesley, originally from Indian Trail, North Carolina was the first commit of the 2015 class, originally recruited by former head coach Dale Layer.
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| John Dawson G | Clovis, New Mexico | Clovis High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ryan Hiepler (W) G | Westlake Village, California | Oaks Christian High | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Anthony Fields G | Detroit, Michigan | Quality Education Academy (NC) | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Jun 5, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Hansel Atencia G | Barrancabermeja, Colombia | Mountain Mission School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Apr 28, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Lovell Cabbil G | Arlington, Texas | Mansfield Summit High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Apr 23, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Myo Baxter-Bell F | Dayton, Ohio | Chaminade Julienne | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | Apr 28, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Caleb Homesley G | Indian Trail, North Carolina | Porter Ridge High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 6, 2015. ||||||

## Pre-season
### Events

On March 4, 2015, hours after Liberty's loss in the first round of the Big South Conference tournament, Dale Layer was relieved as head coach of the men's basketball team. Layer spent 6 seasons as the head coach, taking over when Ritchie McKay left in 2009.
On April 1, 2015, Ritchie McKay was announced as the men's basketball coach at Liberty University. McKay spent two years as the head coach for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons before leaving to join Tony Bennett at the University of Virginia. McKay served as the Associate head coach for the Cavaliers for 6 seasons before returning to Liberty.

## Roster

* Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.
* John Dawson won't be eligible until January due to transfer rules.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||||
| November 13, 2015* 7:00 pm, LFSN | Covenant | W 64–62 | 1–0 | 15 – Maxwell | 10 – Maxwell | 4 – Kemrite | Vines Center (5,039) Lynchburg, VA |
| November 14, 2015* 7:00 pm, LFSN | Summit | W 90–52 | 2–0 | 22 – Kemrite | 7 – Maxwell | 5 – Atencia | Vines Center (3,499) Lynchburg, VA |
| November 17, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | William & Mary | L 59–70 | 2–1 | 13 – Fields | 8 – Maxwell | 3 – Fields | Vines Center (2,102) Lynchburg, VA |
| November 20, 2015* 2:00 pm, LFSN | Central Penn Challenge in Music City | W 86–50 | 3–1 | 21 – Maxwell | 13 – Maxwell | 6 – Fields | Vines Center (1,362) Lynchburg, VA |
| November 26, 2015* 3:00 pm | vs. Appalachian State Challenge in Music City | L 62–73 | 3–2 | 15 – Fields, Cabbil | 5 – Kemrite | 4 – Reid | Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, TN |
| November 27, 2015* 3:00 pm | vs. Western Michigan Challenge in Music City | L 58–68 | 3–3 | 15 – Kemrite | 4 – Maxwell | 6 – Fields | Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, TN |
| November 29, 2015* 2:00 pm | vs. Tulane Challenge in Music City | L 51–72 | 3–4 | 12 – Maxwell, Talbert | 6 – Maxwell | 5 – Cabbil | Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, TN |
| December 3, 2015 7:00 pm, LFSN/ESPN3 | at Radford | L 52–56 | 3–5 (0–1) | 24 – Maxwell | 12 – Maxwell | 3 – Fields | Dedmon Center (2,704) Radford, VA |
| December 5, 2015 2:00 pm, LFSN/ESPN3 | Charleston Southern | L 61–68 | 3–6 (0–2) | 20 – Reid | 8 – Reid, Maxwell | 4 – Fields | Vines Center (2,356) Lynchburg, VA |
| December 8, 2015* 7:00 pm | at Furman | L 56–79 | 3–7 | 12 – Maxwell | 7 – Homesley | 4 – Fields | Timmons Arena (1,206) Greenville, SC |
| December 12, 2015* 2:00 pm | Lamar | L 58–73 | 3–8 | 15 – Maxwell | 6 – Maxwell | 5 – Fields | Vines Center (1,990) Lynchburg, VA |
| December 17, 2015* 7:00 pm | at Princeton | L 72–77 | 3–9 | 22 – Maxwell | 8 – Maxwell | 4 – Dawson | Jadwin Gymnasium (1,360) Princeton, NJ |
| December 20, 2015* 4:00 pm | at St. Francis Brooklyn | L 55–64 | 3–10 | 15 – Dawson | 10 – Dawson | 3 – Cabbil | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (325) Brooklyn Heights, NY |
| December 27, 2015* 5:00 pm | at VCU | L 57–85 | 3–11 | 17 – Kemrite | 6 – Kemrite | 5 – Cabbil | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| December 29, 2015* 3:00 pm, ESPNU | at Notre Dame | L 56–73 | 3–12 | 18 – Homesley | 8 – Maxwell, Kemrite | 4 – Dawson | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,837) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 2, 2016 2:00 pm, LFSN/MASN | UNC Asheville | L 69–76 | 3–13 (0–3) | 16 – Cabbil | 10 – Homesley | 5 – Fields | Vines Center (1,310) Lynchburg, VA |
| January 6, 2016 7:00 pm | at Coastal Carolina | W 62–61 | 4–13 (1–3) | 18 – Dawson | 6 – Cabbil | 4 – Cabbil | HTC Center (1,630) Conway, SC |
| January 9, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | Campbell | W 55–52 | 5–13 (2–3) | 14 – Dawson | 10 – Dawson | 3 – Dawson | Vines Center (1,327) Lynchburg, VA |
| January 14, 2016 7:30 pm | at Charleston Southern | L 63–64 | 5–14 (2–4) | 17 – Homesley | 7 – Dawson | 6 – Dawson | CSU Field House (877) North Charleston, SC |
| January 16, 2016 4:00 pm | at Winthrop | L 58–74 | 5–15 (2–5) | 15 – Dawson | 7 – Cabbil, Homesley | 3 – Cabbil | Winthrop Coliseum (1,877) Rock Hill, SC |
| January 19, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Longwood | W 55–53 | 6–15 (3–5) | 14 – Dawson | 9 – Dawson | 5 – Cabbil, Dawson | Vines Center (1,828) Lynchburg, VA |
| January 23, 2016 12:00 pm, ASN | High Point | W 69–67 | 7–15 (4–5) | 15 – Reid | 7 – Dawson | 6 – Dawson | Vines Center (2,526) Lynchburg, VA |
| January 27, 2016 7:00 pm | at Gardner–Webb | W 69–55 | 8–15 (5–5) | 17 – Dawson | 10 – Kemrite | 6 – Cabbil | Paul Porter Arena (893) Boiling Springs, NC |
| January 30, 2016 7:30 pm | at Presbyterian | W 65–61 | 9–15 (6–5) | 19 – Dawson | 6 – Kemrite | 2 – 5 Different Players | Templeton Physical Education Center (1,616) Clinton, SC |
| February 2, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Winthrop | W 88–77 | 10–15 (7–5) | 20 – Maxwell, Dawson | 7 – Dawson | 5 – Fields, Dawson | Vines Center (1,953) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 6, 2016 7:00 pm | at High Point | W 80–76 | 11–15 (8–5) | 16 – Reid | 7 – Dawson | 5 – Fields | Millis Athletic Convocation Center (1,750) High Point, NC |
| February 13, 2016 2:00 pm | at Longwood | W 69–68 | 12–15 (9–5) | 20 – Reid | 7 – Dawson | 8 – Fields | Willett Hall (1,900) Farmville, VA |
| February 18, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Radford | W 69–67 | 12–16 (9–6) | 22 – Dawson | 7 – Dawson | 4 – Dawson, Fields | Vines Center (2,802) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 20, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Presbyterian | W 79–73 | 12–17 (9–7) | 18 – Reid | 6 – Cabbil | 8 – Dawson | Vines Center (4,323) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 25, 2016 7:00 pm | at UNC Asheville | L 56–73 | 12–18 (9–8) | 11 – Reid | 5 – Maxwell | 1 – Cabbil, Fields, Homesley | Kimmel Arena (1,645) Asheville, NC |
| February 27, 2016 12:00 pm, ASN | Gardner–Webb | W 86–81 | 13–18 (10–8) | 22 – Homesley | 6 – Cabbil | 5 – Dawson, Reid | Vines Center (2,800) Lynchburg, VA |
| Big South tournament ||||||||
| March 4, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | vs. UNC Asheville Quarterfinals | L 49–80 | 13–19 | 15 – Dawson | 4 – Homesley, Kemrite | 3 – Fields | Gore Arena (1,505) Buies Creek, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.. ||||||||