.png&width=100&height=100&type=webp)
Monday, November 4
Xenia, Ohio
5:00 PM ET
Liberty University
1-0,0-0CUSA
83
vs
63
Valparaiso
0-1,0-0MVC
1
2
F
Valparaiso
32
31
63
Liberty
42
41
83
Flames Best Beacons 83-63 in Season Opener at Total Athlete Tip-Off Event
11/4/2024 8:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
XENIA, Ohio. – The Liberty Flames opened their 2024-25 season with a resounding 83-63 win over the Valparaiso Beacons, Monday evening at the Wooden Family Fieldhouse.
Liberty improves to 1-0 to open its new campaign, while Valparaiso starts the year 0-1. Junior Owen Aquino, making his debut in a Liberty uniform, paced the Flames with a double-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Aquino was named the Total Athlete Tip-Off Player of the Game for his efforts. Liberty's balanced attack featured four in double figures, including Kaden Metheny (16 points), Javyon Maughmer (14 points) and Zach Cleveland (13 points). Taelon Peter added nine points in the triumph.
Monday night's game was the first collegiate men's basketball game at the new Wooden Family Fieldhouse. This is the inaugural year of the Total Athlete Tip-Off on the campus of Athletes in Action in Xenia, Ohio.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Owen Aquino 16 points, 8-9 FG, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists; Kaden Metheny 16 points, 6-11 FG; Javyon Maughmer 14 points, 6-9 FG, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 13 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists; Taelon Peter 9 points, 3-7 3FG
Valparaiso Individuals: Tyler Schimidt 17 points, 7-8 FG; Devon Ellis 13 points; Jefferson
De La Cruz Monegro 12 points, 8-8 FT
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.2 percent (32-of-59) for the game and made 10-of-24 three-point attempts (41.7 percent) while holding Valparaiso to 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the field. Liberty held a narrow 37-36 edge in rebounding and a 32-28 advantage in bench points, led by 14 points from Jayvon Maughmer. Liberty led for 34:22 of the 40 minutes, while Valparaiso led for only 3:14 (tied for 2:24). The Flames shared the ball with 15 assists, compared to only seven for Valparaiso. Liberty committed only six turnovers on the night, compared to eight for Valparaiso. The Flames just over half of their points, 42, in the paint, compared to 30 for the Beacons.
Thoughts From Head Coach McKay (on the newcomers and overall thoughts on the game)
"It's a credit to them. Their care factor is high. I think part of our process is to stay committed to recruiting the right kind of people. Liberty attracts that kind of young man. It was neat to see the improvement from the first scrimmage to the second one to the third one. I feel like our guys, the longer they play together, the more connected they will be."
"We have scoring versatility. Six, seven, eight guys can score the ball on our team. The fact that we care most about getting a great shot, as coaches, there is a spirit of gratitude that we have about our group. We have seven or eight guys that could easily average double figures. They won't because we're too unselfish and don't have enough minutes for that. We have guys that could easily score 20 a game. I think as a coach, you are really pleased when guys are really trying to play for a great shot instead of get their numbers."
Turning Point
Liberty used a 10-0 run early in the first half to break a 6-6 tie and pull ahead for good. The Flames never trailed the rest of the way and took a 42-32 lead at the break behind the strong play of Owen Aquino (12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks) and Zach Cleveland (eight points, four rebounds and five assists). The Flames used a 9-2 run to open the second stanza to extend the lead to 51-34 with 17:05 to go. Liberty led by as many as 23, 63-40, at the 11:45 mark. The Beacons got within 16, 70-54, with 6:03 remaining, but the Flames would not let Valparaiso get any closer.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will be back in action on Saturday evening at Seattle. Tip time is 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific) from the Redhawk Center in Seattle, Wash.
Liberty improves to 1-0 to open its new campaign, while Valparaiso starts the year 0-1. Junior Owen Aquino, making his debut in a Liberty uniform, paced the Flames with a double-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Aquino was named the Total Athlete Tip-Off Player of the Game for his efforts. Liberty's balanced attack featured four in double figures, including Kaden Metheny (16 points), Javyon Maughmer (14 points) and Zach Cleveland (13 points). Taelon Peter added nine points in the triumph.
Monday night's game was the first collegiate men's basketball game at the new Wooden Family Fieldhouse. This is the inaugural year of the Total Athlete Tip-Off on the campus of Athletes in Action in Xenia, Ohio.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Owen Aquino 16 points, 8-9 FG, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists; Kaden Metheny 16 points, 6-11 FG; Javyon Maughmer 14 points, 6-9 FG, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 13 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists; Taelon Peter 9 points, 3-7 3FG
Valparaiso Individuals: Tyler Schimidt 17 points, 7-8 FG; Devon Ellis 13 points; Jefferson
De La Cruz Monegro 12 points, 8-8 FT
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.2 percent (32-of-59) for the game and made 10-of-24 three-point attempts (41.7 percent) while holding Valparaiso to 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the field. Liberty held a narrow 37-36 edge in rebounding and a 32-28 advantage in bench points, led by 14 points from Jayvon Maughmer. Liberty led for 34:22 of the 40 minutes, while Valparaiso led for only 3:14 (tied for 2:24). The Flames shared the ball with 15 assists, compared to only seven for Valparaiso. Liberty committed only six turnovers on the night, compared to eight for Valparaiso. The Flames just over half of their points, 42, in the paint, compared to 30 for the Beacons.
Reliving last night's W ?? pic.twitter.com/nBSQ76VFDh
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) November 5, 2024
Thoughts From Head Coach McKay (on the newcomers and overall thoughts on the game)
"It's a credit to them. Their care factor is high. I think part of our process is to stay committed to recruiting the right kind of people. Liberty attracts that kind of young man. It was neat to see the improvement from the first scrimmage to the second one to the third one. I feel like our guys, the longer they play together, the more connected they will be."
"We have scoring versatility. Six, seven, eight guys can score the ball on our team. The fact that we care most about getting a great shot, as coaches, there is a spirit of gratitude that we have about our group. We have seven or eight guys that could easily average double figures. They won't because we're too unselfish and don't have enough minutes for that. We have guys that could easily score 20 a game. I think as a coach, you are really pleased when guys are really trying to play for a great shot instead of get their numbers."
Turning Point
Liberty used a 10-0 run early in the first half to break a 6-6 tie and pull ahead for good. The Flames never trailed the rest of the way and took a 42-32 lead at the break behind the strong play of Owen Aquino (12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks) and Zach Cleveland (eight points, four rebounds and five assists). The Flames used a 9-2 run to open the second stanza to extend the lead to 51-34 with 17:05 to go. Liberty led by as many as 23, 63-40, at the 11:45 mark. The Beacons got within 16, 70-54, with 6:03 remaining, but the Flames would not let Valparaiso get any closer.
Key Stats & Notes
- Owen Aquino is the first Liberty player to record a double-double in his Flames debut since John Brown had 18 points and 17 rebounds against Virginia Intermont on Nov. 12, 2010.
- Aquino's five blocks are the most by a Flame since John Dawson had five blocks at William & Mary on Nov. 26, 2016.
- Cleveland finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals in 32:29 of action. Cleveland was a game-best +22 on the night.
- In his return to his home state of Ohio, Jayvon Maughmer scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in his Flames debut. Maughmer added two steals. Maughmer played for four years at nearby Cedarville University prior to transferring to Liberty.
- Aquino and Isaiah Ihnen made their first starts in a Liberty jersey tonight.
- Redshirt freshmen Kai Yu and Curtis Blair III made their collegiate debuts tonight, along with freshman Brett Decker Jr. Yu was 3-of-4 from the foul line for his first three collegiate points. Decker Jr. knocked down a three-pointer in the closing stretch of his debut.
- Liberty improves to 10-2 in season openers under head coach Ritchie McKay and 31-22 all-time in season openers. The Flames have won their last four season openers.
- This is Liberty's first-ever win over Valparaiso. The Flames are 1-1 all-time against the Beacons. The two teams had not squared off since 2003 prior to tonight.
- The Total Athlete Tip-Off event featured three games on Monday. The Liberty women's basketball team topped Valparaiso 77-58 in the afternoon game. Florida Atlantic and Indiana State are playing in the nightcap.
Liberty will be back in action on Saturday evening at Seattle. Tip time is 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific) from the Redhawk Center in Seattle, Wash.
Owen Aquino | Total Athlete Tip-Off Player of the Game
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) November 6, 2024
?? 16 Points
?? 8-9 FG
?? 11 Rebounds
?? 5 Blocks pic.twitter.com/CR67cDK9WE
Team Stats
VALPO
Lib
FG%
.349
.542
3FG%
.133
.417
FT%
.810
.692
RB
35
36
TO
8
6
STL
1
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Jesse Sanders: Faith in the Fight
Thursday, May 01
Coach McKay, Kaden Metheny & Zach Cleveland Talk About The Game Against Oregon
Saturday, March 22
Coach McKay Talks About The NCAA Tourney Matchup Against Oregon
Friday, March 21
Jayvon Maughmer, Taelon Peter & Zach Cleveland Talk About Their NCAA Tourney Matchup Against Oregon
Friday, March 21