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Sunday, November 24
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
8:00 PM ET/9:00 PM AT
Liberty University
6-1,0-0CUSA
67
vs
65
Kansas State
4-2,0-0Big 12
1
2
F
Liberty
32
35
67
Kansas St.
29
36
65
Colin Porter scored a season-high 17 points and hit a crucial three in the closing minutes against Kansas State.
Liberty Defeats Kansas State 67-65 to Advance to Paradise Jam Title Game
11/24/2024 11:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – Liberty defeated Kansas State 67-65 in the Paradise Jam semifinals, Sunday night at the UVI Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
The victory sends the Flames to the Paradise Jam championship game on Monday night at 8 p.m. Eastern. Liberty advances to face McNeese (4-2) in the title game after the Cowboys bested Longwood 84-69 in the other semifinal.
The win is Liberty's ninth over a Power Five school in the last eight-plus seasons.
Colin Porter led the Flames with a game-high and season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Isaiah Ihnen added a season-high 16 points off the bench.
Liberty Individuals: Colin Porter 17 points, 7-11 FG, 2-4 3FG; Isaiah Ihnen 16 points, 7-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 7 rebounds, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 2 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists
Kansas State Individuals: Brendan Hausen 14 points, 4-12 3FG; Coleman Hawkins 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; David N'Guessan 10 points, 5 rebounds; Achor Achor 10 points, 5-7 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 45.3 percent for the game, making 24-of-53 shot attempts. The Flames were efficient from the three-point line, going 9-of-20 (45 percent). Kansas State shot 45 percent (27-of-60) for the game but only 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from the three-point line. Both teams committed 13 turnovers, but the Flames won the battle for points off turnovers 24-11. The Wildcats held edges in rebounding (33-31) and points in the paint (38-30), while the Flames held narrow advantages in second chance points (11-10), fast break points (6-5) and bench points (21-19). Liberty had 13 assists, compared to 11 for Kansas State. Liberty led for 25:47, and Kansas State led for 7:38.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"They've got a loaded squad over there. Coach Tang does a terrific job. I think after having some of the games we already played in – at Seattle U came down to the wire, Florida Atlantic came down to the wire and this one – you could see our guys had a great sense of composure. They had a togetherness. They did the little things that helped us come out with a victory."
Turning Point
A back-and-forth second half saw Liberty open up a 46-39 lead with 12:56 left following a Colin Porter three. Kansas State clawed back in the game and evened it at 50-all after a Brendan Hausen triple with 9:32 to go. Liberty led 60-59 with under four minutes remaining and scored its final seven points on a 4-of-4 free throw shooting performance from Owen Aquino and a crucial three-pointer from Colin Porter.
Aquino's first two free throws made it a 62-59 lead with 3:49 on the clock. Baskets on back-to-back baskets from the Wildcats' Hausen and Achor Achor put Kansas State ahead 63-62 with 2:31 left, but Porter drilled a three on the next trip down to regain the lead for the Flames with 2:15 remaining. A pair of Aquino free throws put the Flames ahead by four, 67-63, with 50 seconds left. Coleman Hawkins sliced Liberty's lead in half with 42 ticks to go. The Flames came up empty on their next possession, but the Liberty defense held strong as Kansas State missed three shots to tie or win it (two threes and a two) in the closing seconds before the clock hit zero to preserve the victory.
Liberty will face McNeese (4-2) in tomorrow's Paradise Jam title game at 8 p.m. Eastern (9 p.m. Atlantic). This will be the third-ever meeting between the two teams but first since the 2005-06 season. The Cowboys hold a 2-0 edge in the all-time series.
The victory sends the Flames to the Paradise Jam championship game on Monday night at 8 p.m. Eastern. Liberty advances to face McNeese (4-2) in the title game after the Cowboys bested Longwood 84-69 in the other semifinal.
The win is Liberty's ninth over a Power Five school in the last eight-plus seasons.
Colin Porter led the Flames with a game-high and season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Isaiah Ihnen added a season-high 16 points off the bench.
Liberty Individuals: Colin Porter 17 points, 7-11 FG, 2-4 3FG; Isaiah Ihnen 16 points, 7-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 7 rebounds, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 2 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists
Kansas State Individuals: Brendan Hausen 14 points, 4-12 3FG; Coleman Hawkins 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; David N'Guessan 10 points, 5 rebounds; Achor Achor 10 points, 5-7 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 45.3 percent for the game, making 24-of-53 shot attempts. The Flames were efficient from the three-point line, going 9-of-20 (45 percent). Kansas State shot 45 percent (27-of-60) for the game but only 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from the three-point line. Both teams committed 13 turnovers, but the Flames won the battle for points off turnovers 24-11. The Wildcats held edges in rebounding (33-31) and points in the paint (38-30), while the Flames held narrow advantages in second chance points (11-10), fast break points (6-5) and bench points (21-19). Liberty had 13 assists, compared to 11 for Kansas State. Liberty led for 25:47, and Kansas State led for 7:38.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"They've got a loaded squad over there. Coach Tang does a terrific job. I think after having some of the games we already played in – at Seattle U came down to the wire, Florida Atlantic came down to the wire and this one – you could see our guys had a great sense of composure. They had a togetherness. They did the little things that helped us come out with a victory."
Turning Point
A back-and-forth second half saw Liberty open up a 46-39 lead with 12:56 left following a Colin Porter three. Kansas State clawed back in the game and evened it at 50-all after a Brendan Hausen triple with 9:32 to go. Liberty led 60-59 with under four minutes remaining and scored its final seven points on a 4-of-4 free throw shooting performance from Owen Aquino and a crucial three-pointer from Colin Porter.
Aquino's first two free throws made it a 62-59 lead with 3:49 on the clock. Baskets on back-to-back baskets from the Wildcats' Hausen and Achor Achor put Kansas State ahead 63-62 with 2:31 left, but Porter drilled a three on the next trip down to regain the lead for the Flames with 2:15 remaining. A pair of Aquino free throws put the Flames ahead by four, 67-63, with 50 seconds left. Coleman Hawkins sliced Liberty's lead in half with 42 ticks to go. The Flames came up empty on their next possession, but the Liberty defense held strong as Kansas State missed three shots to tie or win it (two threes and a two) in the closing seconds before the clock hit zero to preserve the victory.
Key Stats & NotesSee you tomorrow!????????? pic.twitter.com/VvfoLyEQTq
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) November 25, 2024
- Prior to tonight, Liberty's last Power 5 win was a 66-45 home triumph over Missouri on Dec. 2, 2021 at Liberty Arena.
- Colin Porter scored a season-high 17 points, his most in a game since scoring a career-high 25 points in the 2023 ASUN Championship semifinals (March 2, 2023).
- Isaiah Ihnen notched a season-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Zach Cleveland grabbed a season-high nine rebounds and matched a season best with eight assists.
- Liberty closed the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 32-29 lead. During that spurt, Kaden Metheny and Zander Yates buried threes, and Colin Porter's driving layup with three seconds left sent the Flames to the locker room with a three-point lead.
- Tonight's victory was win No. 250 at Liberty for head coach Ritchie McKay. McKay is 250-128 in 12 years with the Flames.
- The Flames improve to 2-1 on the year in games decided by five points or less.
- Liberty has held six of its seven opponents this year below 70 points.
Liberty will face McNeese (4-2) in tomorrow's Paradise Jam title game at 8 p.m. Eastern (9 p.m. Atlantic). This will be the third-ever meeting between the two teams but first since the 2005-06 season. The Cowboys hold a 2-0 edge in the all-time series.
ON OUR WAY TO CHAMPIONSHIP MONDAY! ??
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) November 25, 2024
Final score presented by Patel & Dalrymple: https://t.co/saJbcCPdUl pic.twitter.com/vPE3UChF2T
Team Stats
Lib
KState
FG%
.453
.450
3FG%
.450
.292
FT%
.714
.800
RB
31
33
TO
13
13
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
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