Arena #122: Vines Center - Liberty vs. Kentucky Christian

After a few weekends off from ticking new arenas off the list (but seeing the #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs in action in Omaha at the newly re-named CHI Health Center Omaha in between), it was off to the mid-south for a 2 state doubleheader starting with a visit to Lynchburg, VA and a visit to the Vines Center on the campus of Liberty University.  While the Vines Center itself seemed a little antiquated, the remainder of the Liberty campus seemed to be undergoing a building boom as there were new football and baseball stadiums neighboring to the arena as well as numerous roads under construction for future expansion opportunities.  I’m never a fan of checking out non-D1 matchups like this one was between the Flames and the Kentucky Christian Knights from the NAIA, but when it’s the only option on a given trip I feel like the visit has to be taken, especially to see a Liberty team that was expected to be a contender for an NCAA bid in their first year in the Atlantic Sun after having a strong campaign the prior year in the Big South.  While the game was never really in doubt, it was a reasonably entertaining matchup with both teams throwing in threes from all over the court in front of the sparse crowd at the Vines Center.

The Vines Center with its geodesic looking rooftop

Definitely a sparse crowd for this contest but the hanging banners were an interesting decoration

Liberty for one of their many triples on this afternoon

The Flames with a throwdown in the second half