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Wednesday, December 13
Lynchburg, Va.
8:00 PM ET
Liberty University
8-3,0-0CUSA
74
vs
52
Tennessee State
6-5,0-0OVC
1
2
F
Tennessee St.
35
17
52
Liberty
34
40
74
Liberty Defense Clamps Down in 2nd Half of 74-52 Win Over Tennessee State
12/13/2023 11:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty defense held Tennessee State to 17 second half points on 12.5 percent (4-of-32) shooting in a 74-52 win, Wednesday night at Liberty Arena.
The Flames trailed by a point, 35-34, at the break before the defense held the Tigers to four total field goals over the final 20 minutes. The 17 points allowed in the second half are the fewest Liberty has given up in any half during the 2023-24 season.
Liberty improves to 8-3, including a 4-1 home mark, following the non-conference victory. Tennessee State falls to 6-5 and has dropped two straight.
Kyle Rode led the Flames in scoring with 18 points, 16 of those coming in the second half. Rode's knocked down four threes on the night, with his first triple being the 200th of his career. Meanwhile Joseph Venzant (12 points, 12 rebounds) notched his second career double-double, and sophomore Zach Cleveland flirted with a triple-double, finishing with nine points, a career-high nine assists and eight rebounds.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 18 points, 4-7 3FG, 3 rebounds; Joseph Venzant 12 points, 11 rebounds; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4-4 FG; Zach Cleveland 9 points, 9 assists (career high), 8 rebounds
Tennessee State Individuals: Christian Brown 16 points, 5-7 FG; Jaylen Jones 11 points; EJ Bellinger 6 points, 11 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty held TSU to 27.6 percent shooting (16-of-58) on the night, including 12.5 percent (4-of-32) in the second half. Meanwhile, the Flames shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) on the night and 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from three-point territory. The Flames dished out 21 assists on 27 made baskets. Liberty outrebounded TSU 46-32, including a 29-15 edge on the glass in the second stanza. The Flames' 46 rebounds are their second highest total of the season. The Flames held a decisive 34-16 edge in points in the paint.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I'm proud of our effort. We knew Tennessee State was a dangerous team, and they really get out in transition at a breakneck pace. I felt like that was an important part of the game. I thought our response in the second half was really good. I think that could have been a detriment to our group's confidence (the end of the first half). I thought we fought through the hard."
Turning Point
Liberty distanced itself from TSU in the second half with a 15-2 run. The Flames led 52-45 before that spurt from the 10:11 to 4:34 mark opened up a 20-point advantage at 67-47.
Liberty's defense keyed the run, holding the Tigers to 1-of-10 shooting (10 percent) in that stretch. The Flames' Kyle Rode scored eight points in that time span.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames will remain at home to face St. Andrews (3-9), Saturday at 1 p.m. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Knights. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
The Flames trailed by a point, 35-34, at the break before the defense held the Tigers to four total field goals over the final 20 minutes. The 17 points allowed in the second half are the fewest Liberty has given up in any half during the 2023-24 season.
Liberty improves to 8-3, including a 4-1 home mark, following the non-conference victory. Tennessee State falls to 6-5 and has dropped two straight.
Kyle Rode led the Flames in scoring with 18 points, 16 of those coming in the second half. Rode's knocked down four threes on the night, with his first triple being the 200th of his career. Meanwhile Joseph Venzant (12 points, 12 rebounds) notched his second career double-double, and sophomore Zach Cleveland flirted with a triple-double, finishing with nine points, a career-high nine assists and eight rebounds.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 18 points, 4-7 3FG, 3 rebounds; Joseph Venzant 12 points, 11 rebounds; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4-4 FG; Zach Cleveland 9 points, 9 assists (career high), 8 rebounds
Tennessee State Individuals: Christian Brown 16 points, 5-7 FG; Jaylen Jones 11 points; EJ Bellinger 6 points, 11 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty held TSU to 27.6 percent shooting (16-of-58) on the night, including 12.5 percent (4-of-32) in the second half. Meanwhile, the Flames shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) on the night and 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from three-point territory. The Flames dished out 21 assists on 27 made baskets. Liberty outrebounded TSU 46-32, including a 29-15 edge on the glass in the second stanza. The Flames' 46 rebounds are their second highest total of the season. The Flames held a decisive 34-16 edge in points in the paint.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I'm proud of our effort. We knew Tennessee State was a dangerous team, and they really get out in transition at a breakneck pace. I felt like that was an important part of the game. I thought our response in the second half was really good. I think that could have been a detriment to our group's confidence (the end of the first half). I thought we fought through the hard."
Turning Point
Liberty distanced itself from TSU in the second half with a 15-2 run. The Flames led 52-45 before that spurt from the 10:11 to 4:34 mark opened up a 20-point advantage at 67-47.
Liberty's defense keyed the run, holding the Tigers to 1-of-10 shooting (10 percent) in that stretch. The Flames' Kyle Rode scored eight points in that time span.
Key Stats & Notes
- All eight Liberty victories this season have been by double digits.
- Joseph Venzant's tallied a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Venzant was 6-of-8 shooting and is shooting 61.7 percent from the field on the season. The junior guard has grabbed 11 boards in four of his last six games, averaging 9.7 rpg during that span.
- Zach Cleveland notched a career-high nine assists tonight and came close to a triple-double with nine points and eight rebounds as well. There are six triple-doubles in program history, with Jesse Sanders recording the last one (14 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists) on Jan. 21, 2012 against High Point. Cleveland's previous career high in assists was seven against Delaware State last season (Nov. 26, 2022).
- Guard Kaden Metheny scored 10 points and added five rebounds. Metheny has now reached double figures in scoring in nine straight games.
- Fifth-year senior Shiloh Robinson grabbed eight rebounds tonight, his second highest total of the season. The forward added six points on 4-of-5 shooting from the line and chipped in two blocks and two assists as well in 18:44 of action.
- Liberty improves to 2-0 all-time versus TSU. The only other prior meeting came over 14 years ago (Nov. 28, 2009), a 64-60 Flames triumph.
- Tonight's win was Liberty's 49th all-time at Liberty Arena. The Flames are 49-5 all-time in four seasons at the facility.
- Tennessee State closed the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 35-34 advantage into the locker room. This is the first game the Flames have won this season in which they trailed at the break.
The Flames will remain at home to face St. Andrews (3-9), Saturday at 1 p.m. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Knights. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
2???? from range for Cap! ?? pic.twitter.com/IOs46Qwja6
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) December 14, 2023
Team Stats
TSU
Lib
FG%
.276
.443
3FG%
.304
.385
FT%
.813
.769
RB
32
46
TO
8
8
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballStep Into My Office with Ritchie McKay
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