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Sunday, January 14
Ruston, La.
3:00 PM ET/2:00 PM CT
Liberty University
11-7,0-3CUSA
76
at
80
Louisiana Tech
12-6,2-1CUSA
1
2
OT 1
F
Liberty
37
32
7
76
Louisiana Tech
30
39
11
80
LA Tech Edges Liberty 80-76 in OT, Sunday
1/14/2024 7:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech edged Liberty 80-76 in overtime in CUSA play, Sunday afternoon at the Thomas Assembly Center.
The Bulldogs (12-6) improve to 2-1 in league games and stay unbeaten at home at 9-0. Meanwhile, Liberty slips to 11-7 on the season and 0-3 in CUSA action.
Kyle Rode paced the Flames with a team-high 20 points, his third 20-point game of the season, and added six rebounds. Sophomore Zach Cleveland finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Kaden Metheny added 14 points and five boards.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 20 points, 7-15 FG, 6 rebounds; Zach Cleveland 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Kaden Metheny 14 points, 5 rebounds; Joseph Venzant 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals
Louisiana Tech Individuals: Isaiah Crawford 22 points, 6 rebounds, 7 blocks; Daniel Batcho 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks; Tahlik Chavez 19 points, 6-12 FG; Sean Newman Jr. 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 43.3 percent (26-of-60) for the game. The Flames connected on 51.7 percent (15-of-29) of their shots on the first half. Liberty was 10-of-27 (37.0 percent) from three-point territory. Louisiana Tech shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) for the game and held a 40-28 edge in points in the paint. The two teams shot a combined 47 free throws. Liberty connected on 73.7 percent (14-of-19) of its attempts, while LA Tech was 21-of-28 (75 percent) from the line. The Bulldogs scored 17 points off nine Liberty turnovers, and the Flames scored 14 points off 12 LA Tech miscues. Louisiana Tech held a 41-29 edge in rebounding and grabbed 12 offensive boards.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I'm really proud of our guys. I think our fight was tremendous. A lot of people will be disappointed and will write us off. This is a group worth supporting. I love them. I love being at Liberty, too, because we get to remember that God is always doing something good. This is good for us. It's really good for us to remember how hard it is to earn victory. It's good for us to remember that when people praise us, that's one thing, and when they criticize us, that's another. We have to keep operating out of our true identity. Our fight, our togetherness, our toughness, it was evident. This group will keep responding. All of us have to get better as a program in order to compete for the top, but we have the right people in the room."
Turning Point
Liberty led 68-63 with 3:09 remaining following a basket from Joseph Venzant. LA Tech scored six of the final seven points in regulation to force overtime. The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run and took a 69-68 lead following a putback from Danel Batcho with 1:41 remaining. The Flames' Zach Cleveland split a pair of free throws with 46 seconds left to even the game at 69-all. On LA Tech's next possession, Liberty's Shiloh Robinson came up with a key steal with 20 seconds left to set the Flames up with a chance to win it in regulation. Cleveland's fadeaway as time expired hit off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
Isaiah Crawford, the Bulldogs' top scorer in the game (22 points), fouled out 49 seconds into overtime. It was Sean Newman Jr. who stepped up for the hosts in overtime, as the redshirt sophomore scored six points in the extra session. Newman Jr. put LA Tech ahead for good with a basket at the 3:08 mark for a 73-71 lead, and scored another basket on the next trip down to extend the lead to four. After the Flames cut it to 75-74, Tahlik Chavez buried his third three of the game with a minute left on the clock to push the lead to 78-74. Liberty cut the lead to two, 78-76, with 39 seconds remaining on a Cleveland layup, but Newman Jr. made a pair of free throws to push the lead up to 80-76 and help seal the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames will return to Liberty Arena for a CUSA home game against the FIU Panthers (7-11, 2-1 CUSA), Thursday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the contest can also be seen on ESPN+.
This will be the fourth-ever meeting between the two squads but first in more than 27 years. FIU holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series. Liberty won the last meeting by a 67-51 score on Nov. 22, 1996 at the Vines Center.
The Bulldogs (12-6) improve to 2-1 in league games and stay unbeaten at home at 9-0. Meanwhile, Liberty slips to 11-7 on the season and 0-3 in CUSA action.
Kyle Rode paced the Flames with a team-high 20 points, his third 20-point game of the season, and added six rebounds. Sophomore Zach Cleveland finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Kaden Metheny added 14 points and five boards.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 20 points, 7-15 FG, 6 rebounds; Zach Cleveland 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Kaden Metheny 14 points, 5 rebounds; Joseph Venzant 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals
Louisiana Tech Individuals: Isaiah Crawford 22 points, 6 rebounds, 7 blocks; Daniel Batcho 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks; Tahlik Chavez 19 points, 6-12 FG; Sean Newman Jr. 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 43.3 percent (26-of-60) for the game. The Flames connected on 51.7 percent (15-of-29) of their shots on the first half. Liberty was 10-of-27 (37.0 percent) from three-point territory. Louisiana Tech shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) for the game and held a 40-28 edge in points in the paint. The two teams shot a combined 47 free throws. Liberty connected on 73.7 percent (14-of-19) of its attempts, while LA Tech was 21-of-28 (75 percent) from the line. The Bulldogs scored 17 points off nine Liberty turnovers, and the Flames scored 14 points off 12 LA Tech miscues. Louisiana Tech held a 41-29 edge in rebounding and grabbed 12 offensive boards.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I'm really proud of our guys. I think our fight was tremendous. A lot of people will be disappointed and will write us off. This is a group worth supporting. I love them. I love being at Liberty, too, because we get to remember that God is always doing something good. This is good for us. It's really good for us to remember how hard it is to earn victory. It's good for us to remember that when people praise us, that's one thing, and when they criticize us, that's another. We have to keep operating out of our true identity. Our fight, our togetherness, our toughness, it was evident. This group will keep responding. All of us have to get better as a program in order to compete for the top, but we have the right people in the room."
Turning Point
Liberty led 68-63 with 3:09 remaining following a basket from Joseph Venzant. LA Tech scored six of the final seven points in regulation to force overtime. The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run and took a 69-68 lead following a putback from Danel Batcho with 1:41 remaining. The Flames' Zach Cleveland split a pair of free throws with 46 seconds left to even the game at 69-all. On LA Tech's next possession, Liberty's Shiloh Robinson came up with a key steal with 20 seconds left to set the Flames up with a chance to win it in regulation. Cleveland's fadeaway as time expired hit off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
Isaiah Crawford, the Bulldogs' top scorer in the game (22 points), fouled out 49 seconds into overtime. It was Sean Newman Jr. who stepped up for the hosts in overtime, as the redshirt sophomore scored six points in the extra session. Newman Jr. put LA Tech ahead for good with a basket at the 3:08 mark for a 73-71 lead, and scored another basket on the next trip down to extend the lead to four. After the Flames cut it to 75-74, Tahlik Chavez buried his third three of the game with a minute left on the clock to push the lead to 78-74. Liberty cut the lead to two, 78-76, with 39 seconds remaining on a Cleveland layup, but Newman Jr. made a pair of free throws to push the lead up to 80-76 and help seal the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
- Kyle Rode's 20-point effort was the seventh 20-point game of his career and first since scoring a career-high 31 points against Wichita State in the Myrtle Beach Invitational semifinals, Nov. 17.
- Liberty led most of the way in the game. The Flames led for 34:36, while the Bulldogs led for only 5:26. The game was tied for 4:58.
- Joseph Venzant tallied a season-high four steals. The junior guard, who is the team's leading rebounder (7.6 rpg), led the squad with eight boards today.
- This was Liberty's first overtime game since a 100-93 win over Kennesaw State on Feb. 26, 2022 at Liberty Arena.
- Kaden Metheny (14 points) has scored in double figures 14 times this year, most on the team. He is second on the team in scoring at 12.0 ppg.
- Colin Porter dished out seven assists, his second highest total of the season. The sophomore point guard added five points.
- This is the first time this season the Flames lost a game in which they led at the half. Liberty entered the game 10-0 when leading at the break.
- The Flames are 7-3 this season when hitting 10 or more three-point shots. Liberty hit exactly 10 three-pointers today.
- Liberty is 0-3 this season in games decided by five points or less.
- The Flames fall to 1-3 in road contests this season.
- The Flames are 0-3 in conference play for the first time since the 2015-16 season in what was head coach Ritchie McKay's first year back at Liberty. Liberty finished 10-8 in the Big South that season.
- Liberty has lost four of its last five games. The Flames are 5-7 in their last 12 games after starting the year 6-0
- This was the first-ever meeting between Liberty and Louisiana Tech in men's basketball.
The Flames will return to Liberty Arena for a CUSA home game against the FIU Panthers (7-11, 2-1 CUSA), Thursday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the contest can also be seen on ESPN+.
This will be the fourth-ever meeting between the two squads but first in more than 27 years. FIU holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series. Liberty won the last meeting by a 67-51 score on Nov. 22, 1996 at the Vines Center.
Team Stats
Lib
LATech
FG%
.433
.466
3FG%
.370
.385
FT%
.737
.750
RB
32
41
TO
9
12
STL
8
1
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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