SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Caleb Homesley was the last one into the Liberty locker room Friday, a tardiness that was the product of an entirely new set of postgame responsibilities for him.
First, there was the interview broadcast to a national audience. Then Homesley patiently obliged the delirious fans seeking handshakes and selfies. Former NBA All-Star Steve Smith approvingly patted Homesley on the calf as he gingerly squeezed past on his way to the locker room.
When Homesley finally arrived, the door shut quickly behind him, and suddenly a wail of cheers could be heard throughout the bowels of the SAP Center.
It was a long-overdue moment for a player who has patiently waited to fully recover from three season-ending injuries in five years and round into the prospect everyone thought he might become someday.
"It was hard at first, but then I realize that it wasn't my time," Homesley said. "Tonight it was just my time."
Homesley, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, had the game of his life Friday night in the 12th-seeded Flames' 80-76 upset victory over 5-seed Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He finished with a career-high 30 points, 14 coming during a pivotal 16-4 run that turned a 10-point deficit into a 69-67 lead for Liberty with 2 minutes, 34 seconds left and ultimately clinched the first tournament win in school history.
The outburst seemingly came from nowhere, as Homesley averaged only 12 points a game this season, and he hadn't scored more than 19 since Dec. 29 in a win over UCLA.
But challenged by Mississippi State's duo of Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters, who combined for 48 points, Homesley came up big and reminded Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay of why he'd taken a chance on him coming out of high school in North Carolina.
"He hurt his knee his senior year," McKay said. "We had no idea if he was any good or not."
It's little surprise Homesley slipped through the cracks and landed at Liberty, a fledgling mid-major just finishing its first season in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Homesley sprouted from 5-foot-8 as an eighth grader to 6-5 as a high school sophomore and then promptly missed most of that season with a broken hand. He put together a breakout junior season, averaging 19 points a game, that earned him offers from Gardner-Webb, High Point and Appalachian State, among others. Homesley seemed on his way to even more before a knee injury ended his senior season before it even started.
