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Thursday, February 8
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
15-9,4-5CUSA
88
vs
53
Middle Tennessee
8-15,2-6CUSA
1
2
F
Middle Tenn.
31
22
53
Liberty
40
48
88
Flames Earn Dominant 88-53 Home Win Over Middle Tennessee, Thursday Night
2/8/2024 10:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty pulled away from Middle Tennessee in the second half for a dominant 88-53 CUSA victory, Thursday night inside Liberty Arena.
The Flames shot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) over the final 20 minutes and outscored the Blue Raiders 48-22 in the frame. Liberty led 40-31 at the half before pulling away for the 35-point win.
The Flames bolster their overall mark to 15-9 and are 4-5 in league play. Liberty has won back-to-back Conference USA play. Middle Tennessee falls to 8-15 and 2-6 in conference games.
Brody Peebles scored a game-high 21 points in his start in over two years. Reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Zach Cleveland finished with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and a career-high four blocks. Kyle Rode posted his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds while adding six assists.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brody Peebles 21 points, 7-12 FG, 7-7 FT; Zach Cleveland 20 points, 8-12 FG, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks (career high); Kaden Metheny 13 points, 5-9 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4 rebounds; Kyle Rode 10 points, 12 rebounds, assists; Ben Southerland 9 points (career high), 4-5 FG, 3 rebounds
Middle Tennessee Individuals: Elias King 19 points, 7-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, 5 rebounds; Jared Coleman-Jones 10 points, 5 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 56.6 percent (35-of-62) for the night. The Flames are 10-0 this season when shooting over 50 percent. Liberty limited MTSU to 36.2 percent shooting (21-of-58) on the night, including a 28.6 percent clip (8-of-28) in the second stanza. The Flames put up a season-high 56 points in the paint tonight, compared to 26 for the Blue Raiders. Prior to tonight, Liberty's highest scoring output in the paint was 48 points in a 99-62 triumph over Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 25. Liberty tallied 20 assists on the night, its eighth game with 20 or more assists this season. Liberty outrebounded Middle Tennessee 41-28. The Flames turned the ball over seven times. Meanwhile, MTSU committed 11 turnovers, leading to 15 Liberty points. Liberty held a 19-12 edge in bench scoring. The Flames attempted a season-low 13 three-pointers but connected on seven of them (53.8 percent). The Blue Raiders shot 30 percent (6-of-20) from long distance.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I thought our guys really rallied on the defensive end. Obviously, there's a lot of space on the floor when Brody's in the game. I thought he played terrifically well, and so did Zach. We had some guys that came in and did some little things to alleviate Joseph's absence. I thought this was a really good team win. Middle's dangerous. They will be a factor in the conference tournament. That guy that sits on that sideline is a terrific coach."
Turning Point
After taking a 40-31 lead into the locker room, Liberty came out strong in the second half, knocking down its first seven shots. Zach Cleveland scored 10 of the 14 points during the hot start to the half, while Kyle Rode and Brody Peebles each added two points. Cleveland's 10 points came in the first 3:19 of the frame, punctuated by a dunk at the 16:41 mark for a 52-35 Flames lead. Peebles knocked down a pair of free throws at the 16:01 mark to stretch the lead to 19, 54-35.
Liberty continued to stretch the lead, eventually pushing it to 30 (73-43) with 9:42 remaining. The Flames' defense held MTSU to four made field goals on its first 17 attempts in the half and 8-of-28 overall (28.6 percent) in the second half.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will play its next game on Saturday night at home against Louisiana Tech (16-7, 6-2 CUSA). Tip time is 8 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.
The two teams last met on Jan. 14, an 80-76 Bulldogs victory in overtime on their home court at the Thomas Assembly Center. That game was the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
The Flames shot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) over the final 20 minutes and outscored the Blue Raiders 48-22 in the frame. Liberty led 40-31 at the half before pulling away for the 35-point win.
The Flames bolster their overall mark to 15-9 and are 4-5 in league play. Liberty has won back-to-back Conference USA play. Middle Tennessee falls to 8-15 and 2-6 in conference games.
Brody Peebles scored a game-high 21 points in his start in over two years. Reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Zach Cleveland finished with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and a career-high four blocks. Kyle Rode posted his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds while adding six assists.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brody Peebles 21 points, 7-12 FG, 7-7 FT; Zach Cleveland 20 points, 8-12 FG, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks (career high); Kaden Metheny 13 points, 5-9 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4 rebounds; Kyle Rode 10 points, 12 rebounds, assists; Ben Southerland 9 points (career high), 4-5 FG, 3 rebounds
Middle Tennessee Individuals: Elias King 19 points, 7-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, 5 rebounds; Jared Coleman-Jones 10 points, 5 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 56.6 percent (35-of-62) for the night. The Flames are 10-0 this season when shooting over 50 percent. Liberty limited MTSU to 36.2 percent shooting (21-of-58) on the night, including a 28.6 percent clip (8-of-28) in the second stanza. The Flames put up a season-high 56 points in the paint tonight, compared to 26 for the Blue Raiders. Prior to tonight, Liberty's highest scoring output in the paint was 48 points in a 99-62 triumph over Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 25. Liberty tallied 20 assists on the night, its eighth game with 20 or more assists this season. Liberty outrebounded Middle Tennessee 41-28. The Flames turned the ball over seven times. Meanwhile, MTSU committed 11 turnovers, leading to 15 Liberty points. Liberty held a 19-12 edge in bench scoring. The Flames attempted a season-low 13 three-pointers but connected on seven of them (53.8 percent). The Blue Raiders shot 30 percent (6-of-20) from long distance.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"I thought our guys really rallied on the defensive end. Obviously, there's a lot of space on the floor when Brody's in the game. I thought he played terrifically well, and so did Zach. We had some guys that came in and did some little things to alleviate Joseph's absence. I thought this was a really good team win. Middle's dangerous. They will be a factor in the conference tournament. That guy that sits on that sideline is a terrific coach."
Turning Point
After taking a 40-31 lead into the locker room, Liberty came out strong in the second half, knocking down its first seven shots. Zach Cleveland scored 10 of the 14 points during the hot start to the half, while Kyle Rode and Brody Peebles each added two points. Cleveland's 10 points came in the first 3:19 of the frame, punctuated by a dunk at the 16:41 mark for a 52-35 Flames lead. Peebles knocked down a pair of free throws at the 16:01 mark to stretch the lead to 19, 54-35.
Liberty continued to stretch the lead, eventually pushing it to 30 (73-43) with 9:42 remaining. The Flames' defense held MTSU to four made field goals on its first 17 attempts in the half and 8-of-28 overall (28.6 percent) in the second half.
Key Stats & Notes
- Brody Peebles notched his fourth 20-plus point game of the season and fifth of his career. The junior from Hartselle, Ala. played a season-high and team-high 32:36 and was also a team-best +30 while on the floor. Peebles connected on 7-of-7 free throws, a new career best for free throws made in a game.
- Liberty's 88 points are its most in a CUSA game and most since also scoring 88 points against Boyce on Jan. 1. Middle Tennessee's 53 points are the fewest the Flames have allowed in a league game this year.
- Peebles' last start prior to this evening was on Dec. 31, 2021 at home against Boyce, 769 days ago. He was involved in Liberty's first 11 points of the night, scoring the first five of the game and assisting on Kaden Metheny's first two threes. The Flames led 11-2 at the 16:39 mark following Peebles' assist on Metheny's second three-pointer.
- Prior to tonight, the last time Liberty won a conference game by 35 or more points was an 88-49 triumph over Jacksonville in ASUN action on Jan. 18, 2022 at Liberty Arena.
- Peebles has scored in double figures in five of his last six games. The guard is averaging 12.7 ppg during that stretch.
- The Flames are 9-2 at home this season and has won three straight in Liberty Arena. The Blue Raiders fall to 0-7 on the road this year.
- Cleveland (20 points) has scored 20 or more points in two of the last three contests. The sophomore forward is averaging 20.3 ppg, 6.3 apg, 5.3 rpg, 2.7 bpg and 1.0 spg over his last three games. He is shooting 64.5 percent from the field and 72.4 percent from the foul line during that span.
- Kyle Rode's 12 rebounds are a new career high, eclipsing his previous high of 11 set at Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 5, 2022. The fifth-year senior's double-double was the second of his career and first since that EKU game just over two years ago.
- Ben Southerland scored a career-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in 13:42 of playing time. The redshirt freshman's previous career high was a seven-point effort versus St. Andrews, Dec. 16.
- Shiloh Robinson made his return to action tonight after missing one game. The fifth-year senior forward scored on his first possession in the game at the 14:20 mark, just seven seconds after he checked in. Robinson finished with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in 17:38 of action.
- Tonight's game was the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Blue Raiders.
- Liberty improves to 3-1 in CUSA home games.
Liberty will play its next game on Saturday night at home against Louisiana Tech (16-7, 6-2 CUSA). Tip time is 8 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.
The two teams last met on Jan. 14, an 80-76 Bulldogs victory in overtime on their home court at the Thomas Assembly Center. That game was the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
Team Stats
MTSU
Lib
FG%
.362
.565
3FG%
.300
.538
FT%
.385
.647
RB
28
41
TO
11
7
STL
4
2
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballStep Into My Office with Ritchie McKay
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