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Thursday, January 18
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
12-7,1-3CUSA
78
vs
69
FIU
7-12,2-2CUSA
1
2
F
FIU
29
40
69
Liberty
36
42
78
Flames Defeat Panthers 78-69 For First CUSA Win
1/18/2024 10:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty Flames defeated the visiting FIU Panthers by a 78-69 score for their first-ever Conference USA victory, Thursday night at Liberty Arena.
The Flames improve to 12-7 overall and 1-3 in CUSA games. Meanwhile, FIU falls to 7-12 overall and 2-2 in league play. Liberty is 7-2 at home, while FIU falls to 1-6 in road games this season.
The Flames assisted on 26 of their 27 made field goals (96.3 percent) on the night and knocked down 16 threes on 33 attempts (48.5 percent). Kyle Rode led four Liberty players in double figures with 19 points and added eight rebounds and five assists. Guard Kaden Metheny knocked down six threes for 18 points and chipped in six assists. Brody Peebles finished with 12 points, and Zach Cleveland tallied 11 points, nine boards and six assists.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 19 points, 5-10 3FG, 8 rebounds, 5 assists; Kaden 18 points, 6-10 3FG, 6 assists; Brody Peebles 12 points, 3 rebounds; Zach Cleveland 11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists; Joseph Venzant 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists (career high); Colin Porter 9 points, 3-4 3FG, 6 assists
FIU Individuals: Javaunte Hawkins 24 points, 9-17 FG; Arturo Dean 13 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: FIU entered the game as the national leader in turnovers forced per game (18.9), while Liberty came into the game 14th in the country in fewest turnovers per game (9.5). The Flames committed 12 turnovers on the night. Liberty shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field, compared to 47.5 percent (29-of-61) for FIU. The Flames held a 37-30 rebounding advantage and grabbed 14 offensive boards, led by six from Joseph Venzant, which matched a career high. Liberty turned its 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second chance points while limiting FIU to nine offensive boards and eight second chance points. The Panthers held a 38-22 edge in points in the paint.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I have a lot of respect for FIU. They have a very unique system. It's not easy to simulate the length, athleticism and determination that they play with in attempt to turn you over and speed you up. I thought our group was really disciplined in trying to take care of the basketball and get a great shot."
Turning Point
Liberty led 36-29 at halftime before Kaden Metheny knocked down a trio of three-pointers in a short span early in the second half. Metheny's third triple in that sequence, his sixth of the night, pushed the Flames' lead to 45-36 with 16:42 left.
FIU hung in the game throughout, slicing a 59-49 deficit down to just four points, 59-55, at the 6:54 mark following a dunk from Seth Pinkney. Liberty responded on its next possessions to regain a double-digit lead. Colin Porter knocked down a three from the corner, followed by a three-point play from Zach Cleveland at the 5:59 mark. Just over a minute later (4:51 mark), Brody Peebles buried a triple from the other corner to push the home lead to 13, 68-55.
The Panthers clawed to within eight, 73-65, with 1:29 left, but the Flames once again had an answer as Kyle Rode knocked down his fifth and final three of the night with 57.5 seconds left to push the lead to 11.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will welcome CUSA leader Sam Houston (10-8, 3-0 CUSA) to Lynchburg for a Saturday night contest. Tipoff between the Flames and first place Bearkats is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
This will be the third all-time meeting between the two teams but first in over 10 years. The Flames and Bearkats last met on Nov. 30, 2013 at the Corpus Christi Challenge, with Liberty earning a narrow 62-58 triumph to claim the Laguna Madre Division title at the event.
The previous year (Nov. 20, 2012), Sam Houston topped Liberty 64-50 at the Progressive Legends Classic.
The Flames improve to 12-7 overall and 1-3 in CUSA games. Meanwhile, FIU falls to 7-12 overall and 2-2 in league play. Liberty is 7-2 at home, while FIU falls to 1-6 in road games this season.
The Flames assisted on 26 of their 27 made field goals (96.3 percent) on the night and knocked down 16 threes on 33 attempts (48.5 percent). Kyle Rode led four Liberty players in double figures with 19 points and added eight rebounds and five assists. Guard Kaden Metheny knocked down six threes for 18 points and chipped in six assists. Brody Peebles finished with 12 points, and Zach Cleveland tallied 11 points, nine boards and six assists.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 19 points, 5-10 3FG, 8 rebounds, 5 assists; Kaden 18 points, 6-10 3FG, 6 assists; Brody Peebles 12 points, 3 rebounds; Zach Cleveland 11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists; Joseph Venzant 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists (career high); Colin Porter 9 points, 3-4 3FG, 6 assists
FIU Individuals: Javaunte Hawkins 24 points, 9-17 FG; Arturo Dean 13 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: FIU entered the game as the national leader in turnovers forced per game (18.9), while Liberty came into the game 14th in the country in fewest turnovers per game (9.5). The Flames committed 12 turnovers on the night. Liberty shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field, compared to 47.5 percent (29-of-61) for FIU. The Flames held a 37-30 rebounding advantage and grabbed 14 offensive boards, led by six from Joseph Venzant, which matched a career high. Liberty turned its 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second chance points while limiting FIU to nine offensive boards and eight second chance points. The Panthers held a 38-22 edge in points in the paint.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I have a lot of respect for FIU. They have a very unique system. It's not easy to simulate the length, athleticism and determination that they play with in attempt to turn you over and speed you up. I thought our group was really disciplined in trying to take care of the basketball and get a great shot."
Turning Point
Liberty led 36-29 at halftime before Kaden Metheny knocked down a trio of three-pointers in a short span early in the second half. Metheny's third triple in that sequence, his sixth of the night, pushed the Flames' lead to 45-36 with 16:42 left.
FIU hung in the game throughout, slicing a 59-49 deficit down to just four points, 59-55, at the 6:54 mark following a dunk from Seth Pinkney. Liberty responded on its next possessions to regain a double-digit lead. Colin Porter knocked down a three from the corner, followed by a three-point play from Zach Cleveland at the 5:59 mark. Just over a minute later (4:51 mark), Brody Peebles buried a triple from the other corner to push the home lead to 13, 68-55.
The Panthers clawed to within eight, 73-65, with 1:29 left, but the Flames once again had an answer as Kyle Rode knocked down his fifth and final three of the night with 57.5 seconds left to push the lead to 11.
Key Stats & Notes
-
Kyle Rode scored 19 points tonight to push him over 1,300 career points. The fifth-year senior has 1,304 career points and became the 19th player in school history to reach 1,300 points.
- Liberty's 16 three-pointers are their third most of the season and most this year against a Division I opponent. The Flames' season high for threes is 18, coming against St. Andrews (Dec. 16).
- Kaden Metheny's six threes tonight are his most in a Liberty uniform. He is the first Flame to hit six three-pointers since Zander Yates knocked down six triples against St. Andrews on Dec. 16.
- Metheny has scored in double figures 15 times this year, most on the team.
- The Flames' 46.6 percent shooting night is its best since shooting 53.1 percent against Boyce on Jan. 1 and best against a Division I foe since connecting on 60.7 percent (34-of-56) at Utah Valley, Dec. 20.
- Liberty's 26 assists tonight were nearly nine more than their season average (17.1) coming into the contest.
- The Flames even up the all-time series with FIU at 2-2. Tonight's matchup was the first between the two squads in over 27 years.
- This is Liberty's first conference regular season win since Feb. 24, 2023, a span of 328 days. The Flames defeated Queens 73-53 at home in their last ASUN regular season contest ever.
Liberty will welcome CUSA leader Sam Houston (10-8, 3-0 CUSA) to Lynchburg for a Saturday night contest. Tipoff between the Flames and first place Bearkats is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
This will be the third all-time meeting between the two teams but first in over 10 years. The Flames and Bearkats last met on Nov. 30, 2013 at the Corpus Christi Challenge, with Liberty earning a narrow 62-58 triumph to claim the Laguna Madre Division title at the event.
The previous year (Nov. 20, 2012), Sam Houston topped Liberty 64-50 at the Progressive Legends Classic.
These moments never get old. pic.twitter.com/tLF4TpsU5l
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 19, 2024
Team Stats
FIU
Lib
FG%
.475
.466
3FG%
.346
.485
FT%
.500
.615
RB
30
37
TO
9
12
STL
8
2
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballStep Into My Office with Ritchie McKay
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Coach McKay, Kaden Metheny & Zach Cleveland Talk About The Game Against Oregon
Saturday, March 22