Randy Dunton (2003–2007)
On March 6, 2002, Randy Dunton was named the sixth head coach in the school’s history. He returned to the Liberty campus after serving two years as the head coach at Marshalltown Community College and as an assistant coach at Binghamton University.
On March 6, 2004, Liberty claimed its second-ever Big South Championship with an 89–44 victory over High Point in the championship game in front of 8,515 fans in the Vines Center. The win marked the largest margin of victory in the history of the Big South Championship. Liberty made its second-ever appearance in an NCAA Tournament game as the 16th-seeded Flames squared off against top-seeded St. Joseph's at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY. The Flames dropped an 82–63 decision to the eventual Elite Eight team.
Liberty traveled to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 25, 2005. There were 22,717 fans crammed into the famous Rupp Arena, serving as the largest crowd to ever see a Liberty game, as Kentucky defeated the Flames by a score of 81–51. Following the 2005–2006 season, Larry Blair earned VaSID all-state basketball first team honors, becoming just the second Flames player to earn first-team honors, joining Peter Aluma who was named to the first team in 1996 and 1997. Blair also joined Aluma as the only Flames to have earned VaSID honors twice.
Liberty honored all-time leading scorer Karl Hess by retiring his jersey prior to the Flames’ 64–56 victory over Conference USA foe East Carolina on Dec. 2, 2006.
One week later, Larry Blair scored 18 points against Longwood University to pass Peter Aluma (1,715 points), becoming Liberty’s all-time leading Division I scorer. On Jan. 30, 2007, With 15 points against visiting UNC Asheville, Larry Blair became the third player in Liberty and Big South Conference history to reach the 2,000-point plateau. Feb. 21, 2007, Larry Blair scored 28 points in Liberty’s 118–108 victory at VMI to pass Tony Dunkin of Coastal Carolina, becoming the Big South Conference’s all-time leading scorer. Blair’s second field goal of the evening, at the 11:19 mark in the first half, broke the record when the senior guard dunked home two points on a fast break.
After the 2006–2007 season, Larry Blair was named to the Big South all-conference first team for the third consecutive year, making him the fourth player in school history to earn all-conference honors four times. Blair earned second team honors as a freshman as well as being named Big South Freshman of the Year.
Randy Dunton
6 Seasons
Record: 77–102
Read more about this topic: Liberty Flames Basketball, History, Coaches