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Tuesday, December 5
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
7-2,0-0CUSA
74
vs
39
Mississippi Valley State
0-9,0-0SWAC
1
2
F
Mississippi Val.
18
21
39
Liberty
29
45
74
Liberty Defense Shines in 74-39 Win over MVSU, Tuesday Night
12/5/2023 10:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty defense shined in a 74-39 win over visiting Mississippi Valley State, Tuesday evening at Liberty Arena.
The Flames improve to 7-2 this season, including a 3-0 mark at home. The Liberty defense had its best performance of the season in limiting the Delta Devils (0-9) to 39 total points. The 39 points are tied for the third fewest the Flames have ever allowed against a Division I opponent.
Brody Peebles led a balanced Liberty attack with 11 points and was joined in double figures by Gabriel McKay (10 points), Colin Porter (10 points) and Kaden Metheny (10 points).
Liberty improves to 4-0 all-time versus MVSU. The Flames have won 20 games in a row at home, the second longest active streak in the nation.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brody Peebles 11 points; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; Colin Porter 10 points, 4 assists; Gabriel McKay 10 points, 2-3 3FG, 4-4 FT; Joseph Venzant 8 points, 8 rebounds
Mississippi Valley State Individuals: Donovan Sanders 18 points, 6 rebounds, 8-17 FG; Arecko Gipson 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field and connected at a 53.3 percent clip (16-of-30) in the second half. The Flames made only 25.9 percent (7-of-27) of their three-pointers tonight, but they hit 20-of-29 shots (69 percent) from two-point range. Liberty held MVSU to 37.8 percent shooting (17-of-45) and forced 14 Delta Devils turnovers. The Flames held edges in points in the paint (36-20), points off turnovers (14-6), second chance points (9-4 and bench points (30-8). Liberty outrebounded MVSU 36-25, with Joseph Venzant pacing the effort with eight boards.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"This one was a much-needed game. Our guys have a propensity, like most of us, to want to please those who support and love us. I think we all felt a little bit deflated after struggling over the weekend against two really good teams. I really was proud of our group. The shots we normally take and make weren't going on. We just had a pride on the defensive end that I thought was mature."
Turning Point
Despite a slow start offensively (3-of-12) tonight, the Flames led throughout much of the first half behind a solid defensive effort. Liberty held Mississippi Valley State scoreless for a stretch of 5:42 later in the opening stanza, allowing the Flames to take a 17-12 edge and extend it to 25-12. Liberty led 29-18 at the break, with behind eight points from Kaden Metheny and four points and seven rebounds from Joseph Venzant. The Flames held the Delta Devils seven field goals on 22 attempts (31.8 percent) in the first 20 minutes.
Liberty led by double figures the rest of the way and closed the game on a 12-4 run over the final 4:31.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames will turn their attention to a home non-conference game against Grand Canyon (6-1), Saturday afternoon at Liberty Arena. Tip time is 2 p.m., and the contest can also be seen on ESPNU.
This will be the second all-time meeting between the mid-major powerhouses. The Flames bested the 70-61 in the first meeting at the Naismith Hall of Fame Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. on Dec. 8, 2019.
The Flames improve to 7-2 this season, including a 3-0 mark at home. The Liberty defense had its best performance of the season in limiting the Delta Devils (0-9) to 39 total points. The 39 points are tied for the third fewest the Flames have ever allowed against a Division I opponent.
Brody Peebles led a balanced Liberty attack with 11 points and was joined in double figures by Gabriel McKay (10 points), Colin Porter (10 points) and Kaden Metheny (10 points).
Liberty improves to 4-0 all-time versus MVSU. The Flames have won 20 games in a row at home, the second longest active streak in the nation.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brody Peebles 11 points; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; Colin Porter 10 points, 4 assists; Gabriel McKay 10 points, 2-3 3FG, 4-4 FT; Joseph Venzant 8 points, 8 rebounds
Mississippi Valley State Individuals: Donovan Sanders 18 points, 6 rebounds, 8-17 FG; Arecko Gipson 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field and connected at a 53.3 percent clip (16-of-30) in the second half. The Flames made only 25.9 percent (7-of-27) of their three-pointers tonight, but they hit 20-of-29 shots (69 percent) from two-point range. Liberty held MVSU to 37.8 percent shooting (17-of-45) and forced 14 Delta Devils turnovers. The Flames held edges in points in the paint (36-20), points off turnovers (14-6), second chance points (9-4 and bench points (30-8). Liberty outrebounded MVSU 36-25, with Joseph Venzant pacing the effort with eight boards.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"This one was a much-needed game. Our guys have a propensity, like most of us, to want to please those who support and love us. I think we all felt a little bit deflated after struggling over the weekend against two really good teams. I really was proud of our group. The shots we normally take and make weren't going on. We just had a pride on the defensive end that I thought was mature."
Turning Point
Despite a slow start offensively (3-of-12) tonight, the Flames led throughout much of the first half behind a solid defensive effort. Liberty held Mississippi Valley State scoreless for a stretch of 5:42 later in the opening stanza, allowing the Flames to take a 17-12 edge and extend it to 25-12. Liberty led 29-18 at the break, with behind eight points from Kaden Metheny and four points and seven rebounds from Joseph Venzant. The Flames held the Delta Devils seven field goals on 22 attempts (31.8 percent) in the first 20 minutes.
Liberty led by double figures the rest of the way and closed the game on a 12-4 run over the final 4:31.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty's 39 points allowed are tied for the third fewest allowed in a game against a Division I opponent. The Flames also yielded 39 points in a 65-39 triumph over South Carolina State on Nov. 12, 2019 at the Vines Center. Liberty's best defensive performance against a DI opponent came on Jan. 11, 2020 in Lynchburg, a 54-37 triumph over Jacksonville in ASUN action. Tonight's 39 points surrendered by the Flames are the fewest against a Division I team at Liberty Arena.
- The Flames' victory snaps a two-game losing skid.
- Kaden Metheny finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. The redshirt junior guard has scored in double figures in seven straight contests.
- Point guard Colin Porter tallied 10 points and four assists with no turnovers. Porter is averaging 11.7 ppg over his last three games.
- Gabriel McKay matched a career high with 10 points. McKay has scored eight or more points in two of his last three games.
- A total of seven Flames scored seven or more points. Zach Cleveland added nine points and was 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Joseph Venzant totaled eight points and a game-high eight rebounds, and Kyle Rode added seven points and five boards.
- MVSU was without its top scorer Rayquan Brown (15.3 ppg) tonight. Donovan Sanders filled the void left by Brown with 18 points and six boards. Sanders entered the night averaging 9.8 ppg.
The Flames will turn their attention to a home non-conference game against Grand Canyon (6-1), Saturday afternoon at Liberty Arena. Tip time is 2 p.m., and the contest can also be seen on ESPNU.
This will be the second all-time meeting between the mid-major powerhouses. The Flames bested the 70-61 in the first meeting at the Naismith Hall of Fame Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. on Dec. 8, 2019.
Team Stats
MVSU
Lib
FG%
.378
.482
3FG%
.200
.259
FT%
.250
.867
RB
25
36
TO
14
5
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
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