Liberty men's basketball falls to High Point 72-57 in season opener

The Liberty Flames opened their season with a 72-57 loss to the High Point Panthers on Sunday night at Rock Hill Sports & Event Center in Rock Hill, S.C., a neutral-site game. Liberty is 0-1 and High Point is 1-0.

The game started at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, and was streamed on YouTube.

How it played out

High Point led 37-34 at halftime and outscored Liberty 35-23 in the second half. Liberty's largest lead was 2 points, and the Flames traded the lead with High Point twice. The Panthers' biggest lead was 18.

High Point shot 28-of-57 from the field (49 percent) to Liberty's 21-of-56 (38 percent). The Flames were 5-of-26 from three-point range (19 percent), while the Panthers made 6 of 20 (30 percent).

The Panthers also led in the paint, 42-32, and on the fast break, 13-3. They scored 16 points off turnovers to Liberty's 8, and won the rebounding battle 38-31. Both teams had nine offensive rebounds.

Carter leads Liberty

Zander Carter led the Flames with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep. He also had six rebounds and four steals in 28 minutes.

Eli Sancomb scored 10 points and led Liberty with four assists. He also had six rebounds, tying Carter for the team high, though he shot 2-of-13 and missed all five of his three-point tries. He made all six of his free throws. Eli Herbert added six points, and Cooper Campbell had five.

Dillon Claussen scored two points but blocked six shots, part of Liberty's seven blocks as a team. Liberty finished with 11 assists and 11 turnovers.

High Point's balance

The Panthers had no single high scorer. Curtis Williams Jr. led with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Trey Pearson scored 11 off the bench, and Conrad Martinez added 10, going 3-of-4 from the field. Cam'Ron Fletcher had eight points and a game-high seven rebounds. Filip Brankovic and Frankquon Sherman each scored eight; Sherman also had three assists, the Panthers' top mark.

High Point made 10 of 12 free throws, while Liberty hit 10 of 15.

Next up

Liberty plays the Boyce Bulldogs at home on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. ET.