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Saturday, February 3
El Paso, Texas
9:00 PM ET/7:00 PM MT
Liberty University
14-9,3-5CUSA
67
at
65
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UTEP
12-11,3-5CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
37
30
67
UTEP
29
36
65
Kaden Metheny
Liberty Edges UTEP 67-65 For First CUSA Road Win
2/4/2024 12:07:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EL PASO, Texas - Liberty held on to edge UTEP 67-65 for its first Conference USA road win, Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center.
The Flames improve to 14-9 overall and 3-5 in CUSA play. Meanwhile, UTEP slips to 12-11 and 3-5 in league games. The Miners fall to 11-3 at home this season, while Liberty (2-5) picks up its second road win of the year.
Kaden Metheny scored a game-high 21 points in the win, his highest scoring output in a Flames uniform. Zach Cleveland added 18 points and seven assists.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 21 points, 5-10 3FG, 5 rebounds, 3 steals; Zach Cleveland 18 points, 6-9 FG, 7 assists; Brody Peebles 10 points, 4-7 FG
UTEP Individuals: Otis Frazier III 15 points, 6-8 FG, 7 rebounds; Tae Hardy 14 points, 4 rebounds; Corey Camper Jr. 13 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 48 percent (24-of-50) for the game, and UTEP connected on 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field. The Flames forced 18 Miners turnovers, leading to 17 points. UTEP entered the game leading the nation in turnovers forced per game (19.36), and Liberty turned it over 14 times on the night. UTEP scored 10 points off those turnovers. The Miners held a 39-28 edge in rebounding.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed 54-50 with 6:52 left before surging ahead to take the lead with a 9-0 run. The Flames regained the lead, 55-54, on a Zach Cleveland layup with 5:59 to go. Brody Peebles and Cleveland added layups to cap off the run, with Cleveland's basket at the 3:27 mark putting the visitors ahead 59-54.
UTEP got within three at 63-60 with 1:48 left, but the Flames' Colin Porter knocked down a pair of foul shots at the 1:01 mark to stretch the lead back to five, 65-60. Single free throws from Kyle Rode and Peebles down the stretch proved to be enough for Liberty to hold on. With 0.8 seconds left on the clock and trailing 67-64, UTEP's Tae Hardy knocked down his first free throw and intentionally missed the second. The ball was batted in the air as time ran out, giving Liberty the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will return home for a Thursday night matchup with Middle Tennessee (8-14, 2-5 CUSA). Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Liberty Arena, and the contest can be seen on ESPN+.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and the Blue Raiders. Liberty and Middle Tennessee were both picked to finish atop the conference in the preseason poll, but the Flames received more first-place votes (five), compared to one for the Blue Raiders.
The Flames improve to 14-9 overall and 3-5 in CUSA play. Meanwhile, UTEP slips to 12-11 and 3-5 in league games. The Miners fall to 11-3 at home this season, while Liberty (2-5) picks up its second road win of the year.
Kaden Metheny scored a game-high 21 points in the win, his highest scoring output in a Flames uniform. Zach Cleveland added 18 points and seven assists.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 21 points, 5-10 3FG, 5 rebounds, 3 steals; Zach Cleveland 18 points, 6-9 FG, 7 assists; Brody Peebles 10 points, 4-7 FG
UTEP Individuals: Otis Frazier III 15 points, 6-8 FG, 7 rebounds; Tae Hardy 14 points, 4 rebounds; Corey Camper Jr. 13 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 48 percent (24-of-50) for the game, and UTEP connected on 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field. The Flames forced 18 Miners turnovers, leading to 17 points. UTEP entered the game leading the nation in turnovers forced per game (19.36), and Liberty turned it over 14 times on the night. UTEP scored 10 points off those turnovers. The Miners held a 39-28 edge in rebounding.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed 54-50 with 6:52 left before surging ahead to take the lead with a 9-0 run. The Flames regained the lead, 55-54, on a Zach Cleveland layup with 5:59 to go. Brody Peebles and Cleveland added layups to cap off the run, with Cleveland's basket at the 3:27 mark putting the visitors ahead 59-54.
UTEP got within three at 63-60 with 1:48 left, but the Flames' Colin Porter knocked down a pair of foul shots at the 1:01 mark to stretch the lead back to five, 65-60. Single free throws from Kyle Rode and Peebles down the stretch proved to be enough for Liberty to hold on. With 0.8 seconds left on the clock and trailing 67-64, UTEP's Tae Hardy knocked down his first free throw and intentionally missed the second. The ball was batted in the air as time ran out, giving Liberty the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
- This is Liberty's first CUSA road win. The Flames were 0-4 in CUSA road games entering the night.
- Kaden Metheny scored 21 points, his most in a Liberty uniform. It was his second 20-point game of the season and the seventh 20-plus point effort of his career.
- Zach Cleveland has averaged 20.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg over the last two games.
- This was the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Miners.
- Brody Peebles scored 10 points, his fourth time in the last five games reaching double figures.
- Liberty improves to 13-2 on the year when leading at the half. The Flames were up 37-29 on the Miners at the break.
Liberty will return home for a Thursday night matchup with Middle Tennessee (8-14, 2-5 CUSA). Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Liberty Arena, and the contest can be seen on ESPN+.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and the Blue Raiders. Liberty and Middle Tennessee were both picked to finish atop the conference in the preseason poll, but the Flames received more first-place votes (five), compared to one for the Blue Raiders.
Team Stats
Lib
UTEP
FG%
.480
.440
3FG%
.381
.286
FT%
.579
.600
RB
28
39
TO
14
18
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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