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Saturday, January 6
Bowling Green, Ky.
6:00 PM ET/5:00 PM CT
Liberty University
68
at
70
Western Kentucky
Liberty’s Comeback Effort Falls Short in 70-68 Loss at WKU in CUSA Opener
1/6/2024 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Liberty nearly erased a 13-point deficit to Western Kentucky before falling 70-68 to the Hilltoppers in the Conference USA opener, Saturday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Flames fall to 11-5 overall and 0-1 in league play after the loss in what was their inaugural CUSA game. Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers improve to 12-3 overall and 1-0 in conference. WKU has won eight straight games overall and bolsters its home record to 7-0 this season.
Liberty trailed 65-52 with 4:42 remaining before going on a 16-5 run to close within two, 70-68. The Flames had a chance to win it in the closing seconds but came up short on a pair of three-point attempts.
Zach Cleveland scored a career-high 23 points for the Flames and added seven rebounds.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 23 points, 9-14 FG, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Kyle Rode 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals; Shiloh Robinson 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Western Kentucky Individuals: Don McHenry 18 points, 8-13 FG, Dontaie Allen 13 points; Brandon Newman 11 points, 3-6 3FG, 7 rebounds; Rodney Howard 11 points, 5-6 FT, 9 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty struggled from the field, shooting 34.3 percent (23-of-67) for the game and 22.9 percent (8-of-35) from three-point territory. Liberty shot 28.6 percent (10-of-35) in the second half. The Flames committed a season-high 15 turnovers but also forced 21 Hilltoppers turnovers. WKU shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) for the game and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from three-point land. The Hilltoppers held a narrow 40-39 rebounding edge, but Liberty won the battle on the offensive glass, 12-5. WKU had edges in points in the paint (30-28), bench points (29-12), and fast break points (9-8) as well. Liberty scored 13 second chance points compared to only four for WKU. The Flames had a season-high 12 steals. Liberty assisted on 16 of its 23 made baskets, led by five assists from Kaden Metheny.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I'm proud of our group for their effort. We have a terrific group of young men and didn't get the desired outcome tonight. I love our character and love our ability to respond to adversity. It certainly was a dose of reality how good this conference is. I feel like we got better tonight even though we didn't win. I think it's an indication that our group is tough-minded (on the comeback effort). We got some good looks."
Turning Point
With the game tied 44-44 with 12:36 remaining, WKU scored 21 of the next 29 points over a course of 7:54 to build its biggest lead of the night, 65-52. The 21-8 Hilltoppers run was punctuated by a Dontaie Allen three-point with 4:42 left for a 65-52 WKU lead.
Liberty chipped away at the lead, getting it to single digits at 65-58 lead with a Kyle Rode three at the 4:06 mark. Over the final 4:42, WKU made only one field goal and was 3-of-7 from the line. The Flames got within three, 69-66, after a Brody Peebles three at the 1:18 mark. The Hilltoppers' Rodney Howard split a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left for a four-point home lead before Colin Porter's driving layup sliced the WKU lead to two, 70-68. WKU's Tyrone Marshall missed both free throws with 12 seconds left. With no timeouts, the Flames got off two three-pointers, with Peebles' triple from the corner missing first, followed by a missed desperation three from Kaden Metheny as time expired.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames will be back in action at home against Jacksonville State (9-7, 1-0 CUSA), Wednesday evening. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Liberty Arena, and the game can be seen on ESPN+.
Both Liberty and Jax State were in the ASUN last year before making the move to Conference USA. The Flames won both meetings during the 2022-23 season.
The Flames fall to 11-5 overall and 0-1 in league play after the loss in what was their inaugural CUSA game. Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers improve to 12-3 overall and 1-0 in conference. WKU has won eight straight games overall and bolsters its home record to 7-0 this season.
Liberty trailed 65-52 with 4:42 remaining before going on a 16-5 run to close within two, 70-68. The Flames had a chance to win it in the closing seconds but came up short on a pair of three-point attempts.
Zach Cleveland scored a career-high 23 points for the Flames and added seven rebounds.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 23 points, 9-14 FG, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Kyle Rode 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals; Shiloh Robinson 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Western Kentucky Individuals: Don McHenry 18 points, 8-13 FG, Dontaie Allen 13 points; Brandon Newman 11 points, 3-6 3FG, 7 rebounds; Rodney Howard 11 points, 5-6 FT, 9 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty struggled from the field, shooting 34.3 percent (23-of-67) for the game and 22.9 percent (8-of-35) from three-point territory. Liberty shot 28.6 percent (10-of-35) in the second half. The Flames committed a season-high 15 turnovers but also forced 21 Hilltoppers turnovers. WKU shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) for the game and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from three-point land. The Hilltoppers held a narrow 40-39 rebounding edge, but Liberty won the battle on the offensive glass, 12-5. WKU had edges in points in the paint (30-28), bench points (29-12), and fast break points (9-8) as well. Liberty scored 13 second chance points compared to only four for WKU. The Flames had a season-high 12 steals. Liberty assisted on 16 of its 23 made baskets, led by five assists from Kaden Metheny.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I'm proud of our group for their effort. We have a terrific group of young men and didn't get the desired outcome tonight. I love our character and love our ability to respond to adversity. It certainly was a dose of reality how good this conference is. I feel like we got better tonight even though we didn't win. I think it's an indication that our group is tough-minded (on the comeback effort). We got some good looks."
Turning Point
With the game tied 44-44 with 12:36 remaining, WKU scored 21 of the next 29 points over a course of 7:54 to build its biggest lead of the night, 65-52. The 21-8 Hilltoppers run was punctuated by a Dontaie Allen three-point with 4:42 left for a 65-52 WKU lead.
Liberty chipped away at the lead, getting it to single digits at 65-58 lead with a Kyle Rode three at the 4:06 mark. Over the final 4:42, WKU made only one field goal and was 3-of-7 from the line. The Flames got within three, 69-66, after a Brody Peebles three at the 1:18 mark. The Hilltoppers' Rodney Howard split a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left for a four-point home lead before Colin Porter's driving layup sliced the WKU lead to two, 70-68. WKU's Tyrone Marshall missed both free throws with 12 seconds left. With no timeouts, the Flames got off two three-pointers, with Peebles' triple from the corner missing first, followed by a missed desperation three from Kaden Metheny as time expired.
Key Stats & Notes
- 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 WKU 10 points under its season average (80.4 ppg) coming into the game.
- Kyle Rode matched his career high with four steals. The fifth-year senior matched a season best with eight boards and added 15 points.
- WKU closed the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 34-33 lead into the locker room.
- Tonight's matchup was the first-ever between Liberty and WKU in men's basketball.
- Shiloh Robinson scored nine points to lead the Flames' effort off the bench. All nine of Robinson's points came in the first half. It is the most he has scored in a game since tallying 10 points at home against Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 25.
- The Flames' 22.9 percent effort (8-of-35) from long distance was its worst shooting effort from deep this season.
- Liberty point guard Colin Porter grabbed a season-high six rebounds. The back court of Porter and Kaden Metheny (five rebounds) combined for 11 boards, with Metheny grabbing three offensive rebounds.
- Liberty is 4-2 in its last six league openers. The Flames were 4-1 in ASUN-opening contests.
- The Flames fall to 0-5 this season when scoring less than 70 points.
The Flames will be back in action at home against Jacksonville State (9-7, 1-0 CUSA), Wednesday evening. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Liberty Arena, and the game can be seen on ESPN+.
Both Liberty and Jax State were in the ASUN last year before making the move to Conference USA. The Flames won both meetings during the 2022-23 season.
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