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Sunday, November 17
Charleston, S.C.
4:00 PM ET
Liberty University
4-1,0-0CUSA
68
at
47
Charleston
3-1,0-0CAA
1
2
F
Liberty
29
39
68
Col. of Charleston
29
18
47
Liberty Turns in Dominant Defensive Effort in 68-47 Win over Charleston
11/17/2024 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Liberty defense turned in a dominant defensive effort, holding Charleston to 21.4 percent shooting in the second half on the way to a road 68-47 win, Sunday evening in the Field of 68 Tip-Off event.
Tied 29-29 at the half, the Flames went on a 23-4 run to start the second frame to pull away for the victory. Charleston made only 6-of-28 field goals in the second half and shot 30.8 percent (16-of-52) for the game. The Cougars entered the night averaging 98.3 points per game, and the Flames held the hosts 51 points below their season average.
Liberty improves to 4-1 with the win and splits this weekend's game at the Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off event. Tonight's victory was Liberty's first in the event, which is in its second year of existence. Next year's event will come to Liberty. Liberty, Charleston and Florida Atlantic each finished with 1-1 records this weekend.
The Flames hand the Cougars (3-1) their first loss of the 2024-25 season.
Zach Cleveland led the way for the Flames with 20 points (sixth career 20-point game), five rebounds, three assists, four blocks and three steals. Isaiah Ihnen turned in his best game in a Liberty uniform, scoring 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Liberty held the nation's leading scorer, Ante Brzovic (33.3 ppg coming in) to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting tonight.
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 20 points, 8-12 FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 3 steals; Isaiah Ihnen 13 points, 7 rebounds; Owen Aquino 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks; Jayvon Maughmer 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals
Charleston Individuals: Lazar Djokovic 15 points, 5-6 FT, 8 rebounds; Ante Brzovic 10 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52 percent (26-of-50) from the field and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from long distance. Charleston connected on only 30.8 percent (16-of-52) for the night. The Flames held a sizeable 36-22 edge in points in the paint and advantages in rebounds (33-32) and bench points (15-12). Both teams committed 15 turnovers. Charleston held advantages in points off turnovers (15-8) and second chance points (8-5). Liberty assisted on 17 of 26 made field goals. Charleston only managed eight assists on the night on 16 field goals made.
Turning Point
Liberty turned a tie game, 29-29, at the break, into a 19-point lead with a 23-4 run over the first 11:59 of the second half. The Flames' defense held the Cougars without a point from the 2:03 mark of the first half to the 12:49 mark, a span of 9:14. During the spurt, Zach Cleveland scored the final four points of the first half to even the game and came out of the break with the first seven points.
Liberty began pulling away during the run with strong three-point shooting from Isaiah Ihnen and Javyon Maughmer. Ihnen buried triples on back-to-back possessions to extend the lead to 49-33 with 10:50 remaining. Maughmer's three at the 9:42 mark stretched the lead to 19, 52-33.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will return to action on Friday in the 2024 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. The Flames' first opponent in the quarterfinal round will be Louisiana (1-2). Tip time is 5:30 p.m. Eastern (6:30 p.m. Atlantic) from the St. Thomas and the University of Virgin Islands Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center. The game will be carried live on ESPN+.
Tied 29-29 at the half, the Flames went on a 23-4 run to start the second frame to pull away for the victory. Charleston made only 6-of-28 field goals in the second half and shot 30.8 percent (16-of-52) for the game. The Cougars entered the night averaging 98.3 points per game, and the Flames held the hosts 51 points below their season average.
Liberty improves to 4-1 with the win and splits this weekend's game at the Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off event. Tonight's victory was Liberty's first in the event, which is in its second year of existence. Next year's event will come to Liberty. Liberty, Charleston and Florida Atlantic each finished with 1-1 records this weekend.
The Flames hand the Cougars (3-1) their first loss of the 2024-25 season.
Zach Cleveland led the way for the Flames with 20 points (sixth career 20-point game), five rebounds, three assists, four blocks and three steals. Isaiah Ihnen turned in his best game in a Liberty uniform, scoring 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Liberty held the nation's leading scorer, Ante Brzovic (33.3 ppg coming in) to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting tonight.
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 20 points, 8-12 FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 3 steals; Isaiah Ihnen 13 points, 7 rebounds; Owen Aquino 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks; Jayvon Maughmer 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals
Charleston Individuals: Lazar Djokovic 15 points, 5-6 FT, 8 rebounds; Ante Brzovic 10 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52 percent (26-of-50) from the field and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from long distance. Charleston connected on only 30.8 percent (16-of-52) for the night. The Flames held a sizeable 36-22 edge in points in the paint and advantages in rebounds (33-32) and bench points (15-12). Both teams committed 15 turnovers. Charleston held advantages in points off turnovers (15-8) and second chance points (8-5). Liberty assisted on 17 of 26 made field goals. Charleston only managed eight assists on the night on 16 field goals made.
Turning Point
Liberty turned a tie game, 29-29, at the break, into a 19-point lead with a 23-4 run over the first 11:59 of the second half. The Flames' defense held the Cougars without a point from the 2:03 mark of the first half to the 12:49 mark, a span of 9:14. During the spurt, Zach Cleveland scored the final four points of the first half to even the game and came out of the break with the first seven points.
Liberty began pulling away during the run with strong three-point shooting from Isaiah Ihnen and Javyon Maughmer. Ihnen buried triples on back-to-back possessions to extend the lead to 49-33 with 10:50 remaining. Maughmer's three at the 9:42 mark stretched the lead to 19, 52-33.
Key Stats & Notes
- The Liberty defense held Charleston to a season-low 47 points and its two lowest-scoring halves of the season (29 points first half, 18 points second half). The 47 points for the Cougars are their fewest in a game since Nov. 23, 2016, when they scored 47 against Villanova.
- The Flames stymied the nation's leading scorer, Ante Brzovic of Charleston, along with the rest of the Cougars' offense. Brzovic had scored 100 points through three games and managed a season-low 10 tonight.
- Zach Cleveland's 20-point effort was the sixth of his career and first since scoring 22 points in a win over New Mexico State on Feb. 29. Cleveland matched a career high with four blocks.
- Isaiah Ihnen's 13 points were a season high and most he has scored in a Liberty uniform. Entering the night, his highest scoring output as a Flame was six points on two occasions.
- Charleston's 21-point margin of defeat is its biggest defeat at home since losing to Furman by 24 to Furman at TD Arena on Dec. 5, 2020.
- The Cougars entered the night on the heels of a dramatic 119-116 double overtime win over Florida Atlantic on Friday night. Tonight, Liberty held Charleston to 72 points less than that output from two nights ago.
- The win is Liberty's first at the Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off event in what was its fourth game at the event. Next year, the three-year round robin series will come to Liberty Arena for the final year.
- Colin Porter finished with eight points and five assists, his fourth straight game with five or more assists.
- Kaden Metheny had seven points and a season-high five assists. Metheny was a game-best +29 in his time on the court tonight.
- Owen Aquino matched Cleveland with four blocks of his own on the night. He leads the Flames with 11 blocks (2.2 bpg) through five contests. Aquino added nine points and four boards.
- The win is the Flames' first ever over the Cougars in what was the fourth all-time meeting between the two squads.
Liberty will return to action on Friday in the 2024 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. The Flames' first opponent in the quarterfinal round will be Louisiana (1-2). Tip time is 5:30 p.m. Eastern (6:30 p.m. Atlantic) from the St. Thomas and the University of Virgin Islands Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center. The game will be carried live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Lib
CC
FG%
.520
.308
3FG%
.444
.308
FT%
.533
.786
RB
33
32
TO
15
15
STL
11
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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