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Saturday, January 25
Miami, Fla.
6:00 PM ET
Liberty University
16-4,4-3CUSA
82
at
59
FIU
7-13,1-6CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
43
39
82
FIU
27
32
59
McKay earned victory No. 260 as Flames head coach on Saturday night at FIU.
Liberty Upends FIU 82-59, McKay Becomes Winningest Coach in Program History
1/25/2025 9:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MIAMI, Fla. – Liberty upended FIU 82-59 on Saturday night, and Flames head coach Ritchie McKay became the winningest coach in program history with the victory.
McKay earned his 260th win as head coach at Liberty, moving past Jeff Meyer (259 wins, 1981-97) for first place all-time. McKay sports a 260-131 record in 12 years in Lynchburg, good for a .665 winning percentage.
Liberty improves to 16-4 on the year and moves above .500 in CUSA play at 4-3. The Flames are 4-1 in road games this season. FIU slips to 7-13 on the year and 1-6 in league competition after its sixth straight loss. The Panthers fall below .500 (5-6) at home after a third straight home loss at Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Taelon Peter led three Flames in double figures with 21 points off the bench on 8-of-12 shooting, his third 20-plus point game in the last four contests. Starting guards Kaden Metheny (13 points) and Colin Porter (12 points) also reached double figures, while Owen Aquino and Zach Cleveland chipped in nine points apiece. The Liberty defense also had a strong showing, holding FIU to 38.9 percent (21-of-54) shooting and 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from three-point range.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 21 points, 8-12 FG, 4-7 3FG, 4 rebounds; Kaden Metheny 13 points, 3-7 3FG; Colin Porter 12 points, 5-8 FG, 5 assists, 3 steals; Owen Aquino 9 points, 4-4 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists; Zach Cleveland 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists; Jayvon Maughmer 6 points; Brett Decker Jr. 6 points, 2-2 FG
FIU Individuals: Jayden Brewer 17 points, 6-12 FG, 4-5 FT, 8 rebounds; Dashon Gittens 12 points, 4-7 FG, 4-4 FT, 5 steals; Jonathan Aybar 11 points, 8 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 59.6 percent (31-of-52) from the field, its third highest percentage of the season, and 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three-point territory. FIU shot only 38.9 percent, only their second time below 40 percent in the last eight games. Liberty held edges in assists (15-3), points off turnovers (19-7) and bench points (33-7). The Flames turned the ball over 10 times, compared to 16 for the Panthers. FIU had advantages in rebounding (35-22) and second chance points (16-2). Liberty held the lead for 38:24 of the 40 minutes, and FIU led for only 27 seconds. Both teams had 34 points in the paint.
Liberty took command of the game in the final seven minutes of the first half. The Flames led 24-19 at the 7:09 mark before closing the half with 19 of the final 27 points to extend the lead to 43-27. Liberty went on a 6-0 run over the final 1:24 to make it a 16-point advantage. Taelon Peter's dunk at the 1:07 mark made it 41-27, and Zach Cleveland's second chance basket with time winding down in the half stretched the lead to 43-27.
FIU never got closer than 15 the rest of the way. Liberty shot equally well in both halves, converting on 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) of its attempts in the second half compared to 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the first half.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will play its next game at CUSA foe Kennesaw State (12-7, 4-2 CUSA) on Thursday night. Tip time is 8 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Ga. This will be the first meeting for the two squads with both as members of Conference USA. Thursday evening's contest can be seen on CBS Sports Network.
McKay earned his 260th win as head coach at Liberty, moving past Jeff Meyer (259 wins, 1981-97) for first place all-time. McKay sports a 260-131 record in 12 years in Lynchburg, good for a .665 winning percentage.
Liberty improves to 16-4 on the year and moves above .500 in CUSA play at 4-3. The Flames are 4-1 in road games this season. FIU slips to 7-13 on the year and 1-6 in league competition after its sixth straight loss. The Panthers fall below .500 (5-6) at home after a third straight home loss at Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Taelon Peter led three Flames in double figures with 21 points off the bench on 8-of-12 shooting, his third 20-plus point game in the last four contests. Starting guards Kaden Metheny (13 points) and Colin Porter (12 points) also reached double figures, while Owen Aquino and Zach Cleveland chipped in nine points apiece. The Liberty defense also had a strong showing, holding FIU to 38.9 percent (21-of-54) shooting and 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from three-point range.
Legendary Leader. Historic Wins.
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 26, 2025
Congratulations to Coach McKay on becoming the winningest coach in program history! pic.twitter.com/Mr6MBD1gEg
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 21 points, 8-12 FG, 4-7 3FG, 4 rebounds; Kaden Metheny 13 points, 3-7 3FG; Colin Porter 12 points, 5-8 FG, 5 assists, 3 steals; Owen Aquino 9 points, 4-4 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists; Zach Cleveland 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists; Jayvon Maughmer 6 points; Brett Decker Jr. 6 points, 2-2 FG
FIU Individuals: Jayden Brewer 17 points, 6-12 FG, 4-5 FT, 8 rebounds; Dashon Gittens 12 points, 4-7 FG, 4-4 FT, 5 steals; Jonathan Aybar 11 points, 8 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 59.6 percent (31-of-52) from the field, its third highest percentage of the season, and 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three-point territory. FIU shot only 38.9 percent, only their second time below 40 percent in the last eight games. Liberty held edges in assists (15-3), points off turnovers (19-7) and bench points (33-7). The Flames turned the ball over 10 times, compared to 16 for the Panthers. FIU had advantages in rebounding (35-22) and second chance points (16-2). Liberty held the lead for 38:24 of the 40 minutes, and FIU led for only 27 seconds. Both teams had 34 points in the paint.
Turning PointMoment after moment, win after win. pic.twitter.com/XEUhyl6Mfy
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 26, 2025
Liberty took command of the game in the final seven minutes of the first half. The Flames led 24-19 at the 7:09 mark before closing the half with 19 of the final 27 points to extend the lead to 43-27. Liberty went on a 6-0 run over the final 1:24 to make it a 16-point advantage. Taelon Peter's dunk at the 1:07 mark made it 41-27, and Zach Cleveland's second chance basket with time winding down in the half stretched the lead to 43-27.
FIU never got closer than 15 the rest of the way. Liberty shot equally well in both halves, converting on 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) of its attempts in the second half compared to 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the first half.
A lot of support and contributions on the journey from 0-260 ?? pic.twitter.com/1lKISr1r7w
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 26, 2025
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty Men's Basketball Head Coach Ritchie McKay earned win No. 260 with the Flames tonight. McKay is 425-289 in 23 years as a college basketball head coach. McKay is responsible for eight of Liberty's 12 20-win seasons and guided the Flames to their first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2019.
- Taelon Peter led all players with 21 points tonight, 18 of which came in the first half. The redshirt senior is averaging 21.3 points per game over his last four games. Peter leads the Flames in scoring in CUSA play at 16.7 ppg through seven games.
- Liberty is 9-0 this season when shooting above 50 percent.
- The Flames even the all-time series with the Panthers at 3-3. Liberty is 2-1 against FIU in two seasons in Conference USA.
- Liberty is 4-1 in road games this season, including a 2-1 CUSA mark. Last year, the Flames were 2-8 on the road last year and 1-7 in league road matchups.
- This is the Flames' first 20-plus point road win in Conference USA play. The last time Liberty won by 20 or more against a CUSA team was last season against New Mexico State (Feb. 29, 2024), an 83-58 home triumph.
- Flames freshman Brett Decker Jr. had his best game in league play with six points on 2-of-2 shooting. The first-year Liberty player was a +13 in only 8:47 of action.
- Jayvon Maughmer led all Flames in +/- with a +20 number in his 28:49 on the court.
- Colin Porter is averaging 12.5 ppg over his last six contests, reaching double figures on four occasions during that stretch.
Up NextWhat No. 2??6??0?? looked like pic.twitter.com/mWNcoMCYjR
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 26, 2025
Liberty will play its next game at CUSA foe Kennesaw State (12-7, 4-2 CUSA) on Thursday night. Tip time is 8 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Ga. This will be the first meeting for the two squads with both as members of Conference USA. Thursday evening's contest can be seen on CBS Sports Network.
Team Stats
Lib
FIU
FG%
.596
.389
3FG%
.458
.125
FT%
.643
.762
RB
22
35
TO
10
16
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
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G
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Jayvon Maughmer, Taelon Peter & Zach Cleveland Talk About Their NCAA Tourney Matchup Against Oregon
Friday, March 21