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Saturday, January 20
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
13-7,2-3CUSA
82
vs
66
Sam Houston
10-9,3-1CUSA
1
2
F
Sam Houston
33
33
66
Liberty
41
41
82
Liberty Hands Sam Houston 1st CUSA Loss, 82-66
1/20/2024 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty handed Conference USA-leading Sam Houston its first league loss of the season, defeating the visiting Bearkats 82-66 on Saturday evening at Liberty Arena.
The Flames complete a 2-0 weekend and improve to 8-2 at home after giving the Bearkats (3-1) their first CUSA loss. Liberty bolsters its overall record to 13-7 and improves to 2-3 in conference play. Sam Houston falls to 10-9 overall, including a 3-7 record mark.
Kyle Rode led the way for the Flames with a team-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Meanwhile, point guard Colin Porter flirted with a triple-double, totaling 12 points, a career-high nine boards and eight assists. Kaden Metheny added four three-pointers and 17 points for the home side.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 19 points, 5-6 3FG, 8 rebounds; Kaden Metheny 17 points, 4-5 3FG, 3 assists; Zach Cleveland 14 points, 5-8 FG, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 12 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists
Sam Houston Individuals: Lamar Wilkerson 23 points, 11-16 FG, 6 rebounds; Davon Barnes 19 points, 7-14 FG; Cameron Huefner 9 points
Key Team Stats: Liberty turned in its third-best shooting performance of the season, connecting on 36-of-56 (56.6 percent) from the field. The Flames knocked down 11-of-23 three-point attempts (47.8 percent). Sam Houston shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) for the game and 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from long distance. Liberty held a 31-30 rebounding edge and limited Sam Houston to only six offensive rebounds. The Flames notched 16 assists compared to only nine for the Bearkats. Liberty also held edges in points in the paint (38-32) and points off turnovers (13-5). The Flames led for 38:39, and the Bearkats never led tonight. The game was tied for 1:21. Liberty jumped out to leads of 8-0 and 11-2 in the early stages. Both teams were 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the foul line.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"Sam Houston does a really good job in their schemes. There's a reason they're 3-0. Chris (Mudge) has done a terrific job with his group. Their staff has got them playing really well. You can tell the talent in this league is evident. I thought we battled. We had a stretch in the first half where we let them get away a little bit. We answered most of their counterpunches. Our group is fairly unselfish and connected, I thought you saw that this evening."
Turning Point
Liberty never trailed in the game, but it was a stretch of play in the second half that allowed the Flames to pull away from the Bearkats. Liberty hit seven straight shots during that span in the second half. The hot shooting turned an 11-point (59-48) edge into a 22-point lead (78-56) with just under five minutes remaining.
Kaden Metheny started the run with a driving layup, followed by a three-pointer on the next trip down to give the Flames a 64-48 lead with 8:53 left. At the 6:45 mark, Metheny buried his fourth and final triple of the night to extend the lead to 71-52. Kyle Rode capped off the outburst with his fifth and final three of the night to push the Liberty lead to 78-56 with 4:48 on the clock.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will be back in action a week from today at Jacksonville State (10-9, 2-2 CUSA). Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central) at Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala.
The Flames and Gamecocks faced each other on Jan. 10, with Jax State earning a 61-51 victory at Liberty Arena. The all-time series is even 2-2.
The Flames complete a 2-0 weekend and improve to 8-2 at home after giving the Bearkats (3-1) their first CUSA loss. Liberty bolsters its overall record to 13-7 and improves to 2-3 in conference play. Sam Houston falls to 10-9 overall, including a 3-7 record mark.
Kyle Rode led the way for the Flames with a team-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Meanwhile, point guard Colin Porter flirted with a triple-double, totaling 12 points, a career-high nine boards and eight assists. Kaden Metheny added four three-pointers and 17 points for the home side.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 19 points, 5-6 3FG, 8 rebounds; Kaden Metheny 17 points, 4-5 3FG, 3 assists; Zach Cleveland 14 points, 5-8 FG, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 12 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists
Sam Houston Individuals: Lamar Wilkerson 23 points, 11-16 FG, 6 rebounds; Davon Barnes 19 points, 7-14 FG; Cameron Huefner 9 points
Key Team Stats: Liberty turned in its third-best shooting performance of the season, connecting on 36-of-56 (56.6 percent) from the field. The Flames knocked down 11-of-23 three-point attempts (47.8 percent). Sam Houston shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) for the game and 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from long distance. Liberty held a 31-30 rebounding edge and limited Sam Houston to only six offensive rebounds. The Flames notched 16 assists compared to only nine for the Bearkats. Liberty also held edges in points in the paint (38-32) and points off turnovers (13-5). The Flames led for 38:39, and the Bearkats never led tonight. The game was tied for 1:21. Liberty jumped out to leads of 8-0 and 11-2 in the early stages. Both teams were 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the foul line.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"Sam Houston does a really good job in their schemes. There's a reason they're 3-0. Chris (Mudge) has done a terrific job with his group. Their staff has got them playing really well. You can tell the talent in this league is evident. I thought we battled. We had a stretch in the first half where we let them get away a little bit. We answered most of their counterpunches. Our group is fairly unselfish and connected, I thought you saw that this evening."
Turning Point
Liberty never trailed in the game, but it was a stretch of play in the second half that allowed the Flames to pull away from the Bearkats. Liberty hit seven straight shots during that span in the second half. The hot shooting turned an 11-point (59-48) edge into a 22-point lead (78-56) with just under five minutes remaining.
Kaden Metheny started the run with a driving layup, followed by a three-pointer on the next trip down to give the Flames a 64-48 lead with 8:53 left. At the 6:45 mark, Metheny buried his fourth and final triple of the night to extend the lead to 71-52. Kyle Rode capped off the outburst with his fifth and final three of the night to push the Liberty lead to 78-56 with 4:48 on the clock.
Key Stats & Notes
- Kyle Rode knocked down five three-points tonight, giving him 61 on the season. Kaden Metheny buried four triples. Rode and Metheny combined to go 9-of-11 from long distance tonight. Rode scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, while 12 of Metheny's 17 points were in the second half.
- Rode is averaging 19.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg over his last three games. During that span, he has made 14-of-26 three-pointers (53.8 percent).
- Colin Porter's nine rebounds are a career high, surpassing his previous career high of seven, set against Villanova last year in the NIT first round (March 14, 2023). This is the first time the sophomore scored in double figures in his last 10 games. The last time Porter scored 10 or more points was when he tallied 12 points against Grand Canyon, Dec. 9.
- Porter entered the day 10th in the country in assist/turnover ratio (3.50). The point guard dished out eight assists tonight with only one turnover to up his ratio to 3.70.
- Metheny has scored in double figures a team-best 16 times this season. Over his last four games, the redshirt junior is averaging 16.0 ppg.
- Coming into the night, Sam Houston had won 10 straight league regular season games dating back to last year. The Bearkats won their last seven WAC regular season contests a season ago and their first three CUSA games this year.
- Both Liberty and Sam Houston are in their first years in Conference USA. The Bearkats' setback was its first ever in CUSA competition.
- This is Liberty's first double-digit victory in CUSA play.
- The Flames take a 2-1 lead over the Bearkats in the all-time series and have won each of the last two meetings. Saturday's matchup was the first between the two squads since Nov. 30, 2013 (62-58 Liberty win).
- Liberty's 2-0 weekend also featured a 78-69 triumph over visiting FIU on Thursday night.
- Tonight's attendance of 4,005 is tied for the sixth most in Liberty Arena history and is the second largest home crowd of the 2023-24 season.
Liberty will be back in action a week from today at Jacksonville State (10-9, 2-2 CUSA). Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central) at Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala.
The Flames and Gamecocks faced each other on Jan. 10, with Jax State earning a 61-51 victory at Liberty Arena. The all-time series is even 2-2.
Team Stats
SHSU
Lib
FG%
.463
.566
3FG%
.278
.478
FT%
.647
.647
RB
30
31
TO
8
9
STL
4
2
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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