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Wednesday, January 10
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
11-6,0-2CUSA
51
vs
61
Jacksonville State
10-7,2-0CUSA
1
2
F
Jacksonville St.
26
35
61
Liberty
21
30
51
Liberty Falls 61-51 to Jacksonville State in First CUSA Home Game
1/10/2024 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty fell 61-51 to Jacksonville State in its first-ever Conference USA home game, Wednesday evening at Liberty Arena.
The Flames drop to 11-6 overall and 0-2 in league play. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks bolster their overall record to 10-7 and CUSA record to 2-0. Jax State has won six straight games.
Liberty's 51 points are a season low. The Flames scored 21 points in the first half, their lowest scoring half of the 2023-24 campaign.
Kaden Metheny paced the Flames with a game-high 15 points. Kyle Rode added 12 points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 15 points, 2 steals; Kyle Rode 12 points, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 8 points, 5 assists; Zach Cleveland 8 points, 4-7 FG, 7 rebounds
Jacksonville State Individuals: KyKy Tandy 14 points, 6-6 FT, 6 rebounds; Andres Burney 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks; Marcellus Brigham Jr. 12 points, 5-7 FG, 6 rebounds; Juwan Perdue 11 points, 4-5 FT
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 34 percent (18-of-53) from the field. and 26.5 percent (9-of-34) from three-point territory. Jax State connected on 43.1 percent (22-of-51) of its field goals and made 14-of-15 free throws (93.3 percent). The Gamecocks held edges in points in the paint (28-18), points off turnovers (14-4), fast break points (8-3) and bench points (8-3). Liberty notched 11 assists versus 12 turnovers, while Jax State tallied seven assists and 10 turnovers.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"Jax State played a terrific game. They deserved to win. I'm really impressed with the change they made from one season to the next. They have a connected team that presents a lot of problems with their length and athleticism. Between Alabama, them (Jax State) and Western Kentucky, we've faced some really hot teams. Sometimes it's how it falls on the schedule. When we're not making threes and they're scoring close at the rim, it doesn't look so good. Jax State made it hard on us, but other teams have made it hard on us in the past."
Turning Point
Liberty led 14-8 with 10:40 to play in the first half but endured a stretch of 7:29 without scoring a point until Kyle Rode's three-pointer ended the drought. Jax State capitalized with a 12-0 run during that stretch before Rode's three trimmed the Gamecocks' lead to 20-17. Jax State finished the half by scoring six of the final 10 points to take a 26-21 lead at the break.
Jax State led 40-31 at the 11:37 mark before going on a 9-3 spur to open up its biggest lead of the game, 49-34 with 8:44 left. KyKy Tandy closed out the run with a three, followed by a pair of free throws for the 15-point lead. Liberty got as close as seven, 55-48, with 59.5 seconds left following a Colin Porter three-pointer, but the Gamecocks sealed the game by going 4-of-4 from the foul line down the stretch.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will play its second CUSA road game of the season when it travels to Louisiana Tech (10-6, 0-1 CUSA) for a Sunday afternoon contest. Tip time is 3 p.m. Eastern at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, La. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and the Bulldogs.
The Flames drop to 11-6 overall and 0-2 in league play. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks bolster their overall record to 10-7 and CUSA record to 2-0. Jax State has won six straight games.
Liberty's 51 points are a season low. The Flames scored 21 points in the first half, their lowest scoring half of the 2023-24 campaign.
Kaden Metheny paced the Flames with a game-high 15 points. Kyle Rode added 12 points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 15 points, 2 steals; Kyle Rode 12 points, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 8 points, 5 assists; Zach Cleveland 8 points, 4-7 FG, 7 rebounds
Jacksonville State Individuals: KyKy Tandy 14 points, 6-6 FT, 6 rebounds; Andres Burney 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks; Marcellus Brigham Jr. 12 points, 5-7 FG, 6 rebounds; Juwan Perdue 11 points, 4-5 FT
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 34 percent (18-of-53) from the field. and 26.5 percent (9-of-34) from three-point territory. Jax State connected on 43.1 percent (22-of-51) of its field goals and made 14-of-15 free throws (93.3 percent). The Gamecocks held edges in points in the paint (28-18), points off turnovers (14-4), fast break points (8-3) and bench points (8-3). Liberty notched 11 assists versus 12 turnovers, while Jax State tallied seven assists and 10 turnovers.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"Jax State played a terrific game. They deserved to win. I'm really impressed with the change they made from one season to the next. They have a connected team that presents a lot of problems with their length and athleticism. Between Alabama, them (Jax State) and Western Kentucky, we've faced some really hot teams. Sometimes it's how it falls on the schedule. When we're not making threes and they're scoring close at the rim, it doesn't look so good. Jax State made it hard on us, but other teams have made it hard on us in the past."
Turning Point
Liberty led 14-8 with 10:40 to play in the first half but endured a stretch of 7:29 without scoring a point until Kyle Rode's three-pointer ended the drought. Jax State capitalized with a 12-0 run during that stretch before Rode's three trimmed the Gamecocks' lead to 20-17. Jax State finished the half by scoring six of the final 10 points to take a 26-21 lead at the break.
Jax State led 40-31 at the 11:37 mark before going on a 9-3 spur to open up its biggest lead of the game, 49-34 with 8:44 left. KyKy Tandy closed out the run with a three, followed by a pair of free throws for the 15-point lead. Liberty got as close as seven, 55-48, with 59.5 seconds left following a Colin Porter three-pointer, but the Gamecocks sealed the game by going 4-of-4 from the foul line down the stretch.
Key Stats & Notes
- Kaden Metheny (game-high 15 points) has scored in double figures 13 times in his last 15 games. The redshirt junior has led the Flames in scoring three times this year.
- Shiloh Robinson grabbed two rebounds tonight and became the 20th player in program history to reach 500 career boards.
- Joseph Venzant notched a game-high eight rebounds. The junior guard is second in CUSA in rebounding at 7.6 per game.
- After starting the year 6-0, Liberty is 5-6 over its last 11 games.
- Liberty is 0-2 in conference play for the first time for the time since the 2015-16 season.
- Jax State is the first team to defeat the Flames twice at Liberty Arena. The Gamecocks are 2-1 all-time against Liberty at the facility. This is only the sixth loss at Liberty Arena for the Flames. Liberty is 51-6 all-time in Liberty Arena.
- The Flames fall to 6-2 at home this season.
- The all-time series is now even at 2-2.
- Liberty has turned the ball over 27 times in two CUSA games for an average of 13.5 turnovers per game. In 14 non-conference games, the Flames averaged 8.9 turnovers per contest.
- This is the Flames' second-lowest scoring effort ever at Liberty Arena.
- Prior to tonight, the fewest points Liberty scored this season was 56 in a loss to Alabama, Dec. 30 at the C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham, Ala. Prior to this evening, Liberty's season low for points in a half was 27 two times (No. 13 Florida Atlantic and Alabama).
- Zach Cleveland scored a career-high 23 points. His previous career best was 21 points, set against Vermont in the Myrtle Beach Invitational title game on Nov. 19. The sophomore forward has scored in double figures in four straight games, averaging 17.0 ppg during that span.
- The Liberty defense held the Gamecocks 11 points under its season average (72.4 ppg) coming into tonight.
Liberty will play its second CUSA road game of the season when it travels to Louisiana Tech (10-6, 0-1 CUSA) for a Sunday afternoon contest. Tip time is 3 p.m. Eastern at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, La. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and the Bulldogs.
Team Stats
JSU
Lib
FG%
.431
.340
3FG%
.273
.265
FT%
.933
.545
RB
38
30
TO
10
12
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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