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Saturday, March 2
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
17-12,6-8CUSA
51
vs
67
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UTEP
15-15,6-9CUSA
1
2
F
UTEP
35
32
67
Liberty
23
28
51
Liberty Commits Season High in Turnovers in 67-51 Setback to UTEP
3/2/2024 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty committed a season-high 17 turnovers and fell 67-51 to visiting UTEP on Saturday night at Liberty Arena.
The Flames drop to 17-12 overall on the season after only their third home loss of the year. Liberty falls to 11-3 at home this year, including a 5-2 home Conference USA mark. The Flames are 6-8 overall in CUSA games.
Liberty's 51 points match a season low. UTEP shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) for the game.
UTEP (15-15, 6-9 CUSA) picks up its second road win in the last three days. The Miners also defeated Jacksonville State on the road, Thursday night. UTEP's victory was only its second road win of the year.
Liberty and UTEP split the regular season series, with both teams winning on the road. The Flames edged the Miners 67-65 four weeks ago (Feb. 3) in El Paso, Texas.
Kaden Metheny paced the Liberty offense with 15 points. Corey Camper Jr. (career-high 21 points) and Zid Powell (19 points) combined for 40 of the Miners' 67 points. Tae Hardy added 12 points, and Otis Frazier III contributed 11.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 15 points, 5-10 FG; Kyle Rode 13 points, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 6 points, 10 rebounds
UTEP Individuals: Corey Camper Jr. 21 points (career high) 9-15 FG, 6 rebounds; Zid Powell 19 points, 7-9 FG; Tae Hardy 12 points, 4 assists; Otis Frazier III 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
Key Team Stats: Liberty committed a season-high 17 turnovers, leading to 23 UTEP points. The Flames' previous high for turnovers coming into the night was 15, coming on two occasions (at Western Kentucky, Jan. 6 and vs. Louisiana Tech, Feb. 10). The Flames shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) from the field and 28 percent (7-of-25) from long distance. Liberty shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the foul line, and UTEP also struggled at 55.6 percent (5-of-9). This is the first time this season the Flames lost a game (10-1) in which they shot more free throws than their opposition. Liberty's nine assists matched a season low. The Flames entered the night with the 11th in the country in assist/turnover ratio (1.67) and had their worst ratio of the season (0.53). UTEP held edges in points the paint (38-22), rebounding (29-26) and steals (6-4). The Miners led the lead for 38:49 of the 40 minutes. Liberty led for only 28 seconds.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"UTEP played fantastically tonight. I think we helped them a little bit, but I don't want to take anything away from them. They were really good. Hats off to them for being able to execute their game plan and coming out with a W in our arena, which is really hard to do historically, especially when you have a nice crowd like that."
Turning Point
Liberty led 10-9 at the 16:02 mark of the first half before UTEP went on a big run to take a 30-13 lead. The Miners' 15-0 run made it a 30-13 lead. The Flames went 11 minutes with scoring only three points over a span of 11:02 (16:02 to 5:00). Liberty trimmed the UTEP lead to 35-23 at the break.
The Miners used a quick 8-0 run to start the second half and push the lead to 20, 43-23. Liberty used a 12-0 run, capped off by a Kaden Metheny three at the 13:34 mark, to cut the Miners' lead to 43-35. UTEP responded with an 8-0 run of its own to bump the lead back up to 16, 51-35, with 9:49 left. Liberty never got closer than within 12 the rest of the way.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty's next game will be at Middle Tennessee (12-17, 6-8 CUSA), Tuesday evening. The Flames and Blue Raiders will square off at 7 p.m. Eastern at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
Liberty topped Middle Tennessee 88-53 on Feb. 8 at Liberty Arena in what was the first-ever meeting between the two teams. 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 drop to 17-12 overall on the season after only their third home loss of the year. Liberty falls to 11-3 at home this year, including a 5-2 home Conference USA mark. The Flames are 6-8 overall in CUSA games.
Liberty's 51 points match a season low. UTEP shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) for the game.
UTEP (15-15, 6-9 CUSA) picks up its second road win in the last three days. The Miners also defeated Jacksonville State on the road, Thursday night. UTEP's victory was only its second road win of the year.
Liberty and UTEP split the regular season series, with both teams winning on the road. The Flames edged the Miners 67-65 four weeks ago (Feb. 3) in El Paso, Texas.
Kaden Metheny paced the Liberty offense with 15 points. Corey Camper Jr. (career-high 21 points) and Zid Powell (19 points) combined for 40 of the Miners' 67 points. Tae Hardy added 12 points, and Otis Frazier III contributed 11.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 15 points, 5-10 FG; Kyle Rode 13 points, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 6 points, 10 rebounds
UTEP Individuals: Corey Camper Jr. 21 points (career high) 9-15 FG, 6 rebounds; Zid Powell 19 points, 7-9 FG; Tae Hardy 12 points, 4 assists; Otis Frazier III 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
Key Team Stats: Liberty committed a season-high 17 turnovers, leading to 23 UTEP points. The Flames' previous high for turnovers coming into the night was 15, coming on two occasions (at Western Kentucky, Jan. 6 and vs. Louisiana Tech, Feb. 10). The Flames shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) from the field and 28 percent (7-of-25) from long distance. Liberty shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the foul line, and UTEP also struggled at 55.6 percent (5-of-9). This is the first time this season the Flames lost a game (10-1) in which they shot more free throws than their opposition. Liberty's nine assists matched a season low. The Flames entered the night with the 11th in the country in assist/turnover ratio (1.67) and had their worst ratio of the season (0.53). UTEP held edges in points the paint (38-22), rebounding (29-26) and steals (6-4). The Miners led the lead for 38:49 of the 40 minutes. Liberty led for only 28 seconds.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"UTEP played fantastically tonight. I think we helped them a little bit, but I don't want to take anything away from them. They were really good. Hats off to them for being able to execute their game plan and coming out with a W in our arena, which is really hard to do historically, especially when you have a nice crowd like that."
Turning Point
Liberty led 10-9 at the 16:02 mark of the first half before UTEP went on a big run to take a 30-13 lead. The Miners' 15-0 run made it a 30-13 lead. The Flames went 11 minutes with scoring only three points over a span of 11:02 (16:02 to 5:00). Liberty trimmed the UTEP lead to 35-23 at the break.
The Miners used a quick 8-0 run to start the second half and push the lead to 20, 43-23. Liberty used a 12-0 run, capped off by a Kaden Metheny three at the 13:34 mark, to cut the Miners' lead to 43-35. UTEP responded with an 8-0 run of its own to bump the lead back up to 16, 51-35, with 9:49 left. Liberty never got closer than within 12 the rest of the way.
Key Stats & Notes
- This was Kaden Metheny's 12th time this season scoring 15 or more points. Metheny is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg.
- This is only Liberty's seventh loss all-time at Liberty Arena. The Flames are 56-7 in four years at the facility. Liberty is 88-8 at home over the last six seasons.
- Kyle Rode (13 points) scored in double figures for the sixth straight game.
- Zach Cleveland grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds tonight. It was his second career double-digit rebounding effort.
- With three assists tonight, Colin Porter moved into No. 25 in program history for career assists with 246.
- Joseph Venzant matched a career high with two blocks. The junior guard added two points and five rebounds in 19:51 of action and was a +3 in his time on the court.
- Tonight's loss snaps the Flames' five-game home winning streak.
- UTEP is the sixth opponent this season who has shot 50 percent or better versus Liberty. The Flames are 1-5 in those games.
- The Flames' 16-point loss is its biggest margin of defeat in Liberty Arena history.
- Liberty is 4-8 this season in games which it has committed more turnovers than its counterpart.
- The Flames' 51 points are tied for a season low. Liberty also scored 51 points in a 61-51 setback to Jacksonville State, Jan. 10 at Liberty Arena.
Liberty's next game will be at Middle Tennessee (12-17, 6-8 CUSA), Tuesday evening. The Flames and Blue Raiders will square off at 7 p.m. Eastern at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
Liberty topped Middle Tennessee 88-53 on Feb. 8 at Liberty Arena in what was the first-ever meeting between the two teams. 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.
Team Stats
UTEP
Lib
FG%
.528
.391
3FG%
.400
.280
FT%
.556
.571
RB
29
26
TO
10
17
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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