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Friday, December 1
Boca Raton, Fla.
6:00 PM ET
Liberty University
6-2,0-0CUSA
67
vs
76
Charleston
4-3,0-0CAA
1
2
F
Col. of Charleston
37
39
76
Liberty
33
34
67
Liberty Falls 76-67 to Charleston, Friday Night
12/1/2023 9:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Liberty fell 76-67 to Charleston in the second game of the night at The Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off, Friday night at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
The Flames drop to 6-2 on the year after losing games in back-to-back days. Meanwhile, the Cougars move above .500 at 4-3 and have won three in a row.
Liberty forward Kyle Rode led the way with 18 points, and Kaden Metheny added 16.
The Flames finish 0-2 at the inaugural Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off. Next year, the round-robin series heads to Charleston. In 2025, the event featuring Liberty, Florida Atlantic and Charleston will be held at Liberty Arena in Lynchburg.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5-12 3FG, 2 steals; Kaden Metheny 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds; Joseph Venzant 5 points, 11 rebounds
Charleston Individuals: Ben Burnham 18 points, 8-11 FG, 5 rebounds; Jordan Crawford 11 points, 3-4 FG, 4 rebounds; CJ Fulton 9 points
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field and committed 11 turnovers. Conversely, Charleston was 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the floor and had nine turnovers. The Cougars held edges in rebounding (39-36), bench points (35-11), points off turnovers (10-8), points in the paint (36-26), second chance points (14-5) and fast break points (17-7). Charleston led for 39:44 of the 40 minutes, and the game was tied for 16 seconds.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"It was a tough weekend for us. We've got a lot of respect for Florida Atlantic and Charleston. I'm proud of our guys' effort. I think we emptied our tank tonight. I think this group has so much character. We have a lot of basketball ahead of us, a lot of time and opportunity to improve. We show up with a great spirit of representation and play with a joy and gratitude."
Turning Point
Liberty used a 9-0 run to trim a nine-point Charleston lead down to one, 49-48, with 13:47 to go. Zach Cleveland scored the basket that made it a one-point game and was fouled but missed the ensuing free throw. The Cougars went on an 18-2 run over the next seven-plus minutes to open up their biggest lead of the night, 67-50, with 6:33 to play.
Liberty clawed back to within six, 69-63, with 1:37 remaining following Kyle Rode's fifth and final three of the night. Charleston made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames return home to face Mississippi Valley State (0-7), Tuesday evening at Liberty Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
Liberty is 3-0 all-time versus the Delta Devils. The two squads last met on Nov. 23, 2016 in Lynchburg, a 70-55 Flames triumph at the Vines Center.
The Flames drop to 6-2 on the year after losing games in back-to-back days. Meanwhile, the Cougars move above .500 at 4-3 and have won three in a row.
Liberty forward Kyle Rode led the way with 18 points, and Kaden Metheny added 16.
The Flames finish 0-2 at the inaugural Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off. Next year, the round-robin series heads to Charleston. In 2025, the event featuring Liberty, Florida Atlantic and Charleston will be held at Liberty Arena in Lynchburg.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5-12 3FG, 2 steals; Kaden Metheny 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds; Joseph Venzant 5 points, 11 rebounds
Charleston Individuals: Ben Burnham 18 points, 8-11 FG, 5 rebounds; Jordan Crawford 11 points, 3-4 FG, 4 rebounds; CJ Fulton 9 points
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field and committed 11 turnovers. Conversely, Charleston was 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the floor and had nine turnovers. The Cougars held edges in rebounding (39-36), bench points (35-11), points off turnovers (10-8), points in the paint (36-26), second chance points (14-5) and fast break points (17-7). Charleston led for 39:44 of the 40 minutes, and the game was tied for 16 seconds.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"It was a tough weekend for us. We've got a lot of respect for Florida Atlantic and Charleston. I'm proud of our guys' effort. I think we emptied our tank tonight. I think this group has so much character. We have a lot of basketball ahead of us, a lot of time and opportunity to improve. We show up with a great spirit of representation and play with a joy and gratitude."
Turning Point
Liberty used a 9-0 run to trim a nine-point Charleston lead down to one, 49-48, with 13:47 to go. Zach Cleveland scored the basket that made it a one-point game and was fouled but missed the ensuing free throw. The Cougars went on an 18-2 run over the next seven-plus minutes to open up their biggest lead of the night, 67-50, with 6:33 to play.
Liberty clawed back to within six, 69-63, with 1:37 remaining following Kyle Rode's fifth and final three of the night. Charleston made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty's two setbacks this weekend are to teams who won a combined 66 games last year. FAU won 35 games and reached the Final Four, while Charleston won 31 games and made the NCAA Tournament.
- Joseph Venzant matched a season high with 11 rebounds, his second game of 11 rebounds in the last three games. The junior guard has seven career double-digit rebounding efforts.
- The Flames shot 37.9 percent from the field in two Field of 68 Tip-Off event games after entering the event shooting 53.1 percent over the first six games.
- Kaden Metheny averaged 13.0 ppg over the last two days to lead the Flames in scoring. Kyle Rode (12.0 ppg) and Colin Porter (10.5 ppg) also averaged in double figures in the two games. Venzant led the squad with 16 rebounds in the two contests (8.0 rpg) and paces the team at 7.6 rpg through eight games.
- This is the first time Liberty has lost back-to-back games since falling 76-72 to Southern Miss and 66-52 to Northwestern last November.
- Charleston improves to 3-0 all-time against Liberty.
The Flames return home to face Mississippi Valley State (0-7), Tuesday evening at Liberty Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
Liberty is 3-0 all-time versus the Delta Devils. The two squads last met on Nov. 23, 2016 in Lynchburg, a 70-55 Flames triumph at the Vines Center.
Team Stats
CC
Lib
FG%
.491
.383
3FG%
.348
.323
FT%
.700
.611
RB
39
36
TO
9
11
STL
4
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballStep Into My Office with Ritchie McKay
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Kaden Metheny & Zach Cleveland Talk About The Upcoming Season
Tuesday, September 23
Jesse Sanders: Faith in the Fight
Thursday, May 01
Coach McKay, Kaden Metheny & Zach Cleveland Talk About The Game Against Oregon
Saturday, March 22