Thursday, January 30
Kennesaw, Ga.
8:00 PM ET
Liberty University
17-4,5-3CUSA
76
at
68
Kennesaw State
12-9,4-4CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
38
38
76
Kennesaw St.
28
40
68
Porter finished with 13 points and matched a career best with five steals.
Liberty Deals KSU 1st Home Loss, 76-68
1/30/2025 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENNESAW, Ga. – Liberty dealt Kennesaw State its first home loss, topping the Owls 76-68 on Thursday night in Conference USA action at the KSU Convocation Center.
The Flames move to 17-4 on the year, 5-3 in CUSA action and 5-1 on the road after their third straight win overall. The Owls fall to 12-9 overall, 4-4 in the league and 9-1 at home.
Kaden Metheny led the way with 17 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Zach Cleveland finished with 14 points and a game-high six assists, and Colin Porter added 13 points and a career-high-matching five steals.
The Flames improve to 10-2 all-time against the Owls and snap a two-game losing skid to KSU.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 17 points, 6-12 FG, 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 13 points, 3-4 3FG, 4 assists, 5 steals; Taelon Peter 11 points, 3 rebounds; Jayvon Maughmer 9 points, 4 rebounds
Kennesaw State Individuals: Adrian Wooley 22 points, 9-17 FG, 5 assists; Andre Weir 13 points, 6-11 FG, 13 rebounds; Simeon Cottle 10 points, 3-16 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 50 percent (28-of-56) on the evening and was 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from three-point territory. Meanwhile, the Liberty defense held Kennesaw State to 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the field and 18.8 percent (6-of-32) from long distance. The Flames held edges in assists (14-10), bench points (17-15) and steals (9-5). The Owls won the battle on the glass in decisive fashion, 45-27. KSU had the advantage in points in the paint (40-32) and second chance points (16-2). Liberty limited KSU to five fast break points and scored seven of its own. The Flames forced 12 Owls turnovers. Liberty committed only eight turnovers, its third straight game with 10 or fewer.
Turning Point
Liberty held a steady lead through much of the game, as Kennesaw State only led nine seconds the entire night. The Flames led for 36:24 and jumped out to a 17-7 advantage over the first nine-plus minutes of the game. Colin Porter's floater just before the first half buzzer sent the Flames to the locker room with a 38-28 lead.
KSU made a few runs in the second half, but Liberty responded to distance itself from the Owls. The Flames led 44-30 in the early stages of the second half before an 8-0 KSU run trimmed the lead to six with 15:16 ago. Liberty responded with an acrobatic basket from Kaden Metheny followed by a Zander Yates triple for a 49-40 lead. The Owls got within six two more times (54-48 and 71-65), but the Flames had answer each time. During the first KSU push midway through the second half, an 11-2 Liberty run capped off by a Porter triple, stretched the lead to 65-50 with 6:44 remaining. In the final two minutes, Metheny delivered his third and final three for a 74-65 lead with 1:30 remaining that helped seal the road triumph.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames will be back in action on Saturday at Conference USA leader Jacksonville State (14-7, 6-2 CUSA). Tip time is 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central) from Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala. and can be seen on ESPN+. Liberty (5-3 CUSA) is in a tie for four-way tie for second place in the CUSA standings.
Liberty and Jax State will be squaring off for the sixth time ever and third time with both in Conference USA. The Gamecocks swept the regular season series last year, winning 73-62 at home and 61-51 on the road.
The Flames move to 17-4 on the year, 5-3 in CUSA action and 5-1 on the road after their third straight win overall. The Owls fall to 12-9 overall, 4-4 in the league and 9-1 at home.
Kaden Metheny led the way with 17 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Zach Cleveland finished with 14 points and a game-high six assists, and Colin Porter added 13 points and a career-high-matching five steals.
The Flames improve to 10-2 all-time against the Owls and snap a two-game losing skid to KSU.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 17 points, 6-12 FG, 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 13 points, 3-4 3FG, 4 assists, 5 steals; Taelon Peter 11 points, 3 rebounds; Jayvon Maughmer 9 points, 4 rebounds
Kennesaw State Individuals: Adrian Wooley 22 points, 9-17 FG, 5 assists; Andre Weir 13 points, 6-11 FG, 13 rebounds; Simeon Cottle 10 points, 3-16 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 50 percent (28-of-56) on the evening and was 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from three-point territory. Meanwhile, the Liberty defense held Kennesaw State to 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the field and 18.8 percent (6-of-32) from long distance. The Flames held edges in assists (14-10), bench points (17-15) and steals (9-5). The Owls won the battle on the glass in decisive fashion, 45-27. KSU had the advantage in points in the paint (40-32) and second chance points (16-2). Liberty limited KSU to five fast break points and scored seven of its own. The Flames forced 12 Owls turnovers. Liberty committed only eight turnovers, its third straight game with 10 or fewer.
Turning Point
Liberty held a steady lead through much of the game, as Kennesaw State only led nine seconds the entire night. The Flames led for 36:24 and jumped out to a 17-7 advantage over the first nine-plus minutes of the game. Colin Porter's floater just before the first half buzzer sent the Flames to the locker room with a 38-28 lead.
KSU made a few runs in the second half, but Liberty responded to distance itself from the Owls. The Flames led 44-30 in the early stages of the second half before an 8-0 KSU run trimmed the lead to six with 15:16 ago. Liberty responded with an acrobatic basket from Kaden Metheny followed by a Zander Yates triple for a 49-40 lead. The Owls got within six two more times (54-48 and 71-65), but the Flames had answer each time. During the first KSU push midway through the second half, an 11-2 Liberty run capped off by a Porter triple, stretched the lead to 65-50 with 6:44 remaining. In the final two minutes, Metheny delivered his third and final three for a 74-65 lead with 1:30 remaining that helped seal the road triumph.
Key Stats & Notes
- The Liberty defense limited KSU leading scorer Simeon Cottle (18.4 ppg coming in) to 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting. The Flames held Cottle and Adrian Wooley (22 points) to 12-of-33 shooting (36.4 percent) combined.
- Liberty shot exactly 50 percent (28-of-56) tonight from the field. The Flames are 10-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better.
- The Flames hit 11 three-pointers tonight. Liberty is 11-2 this year when hitting 10 or more triples.
- Colin Porter (13 points) was 3-of-4 from three-point range tonight. Porter, who is shooting 47 percent from long distance on the year, is 15 for his last 26 from three (57.7 percent) over the last seven games.
- Porter matched a career high with five steals, his fourth career game with exactly five steals. The junior point guard moved into the top 50 in program history for career points with his 13-point effort tonight. Porter has 718 career points, moving pass Delawn Grandison and Blake Preston (713 points each), who entered the night tied for 50th all-time in school history.
- Liberty handed KSU its first loss in nearly a year. The Owls' last setback on their home floor was an 82-81 setback to North Florida on Feb. 16, 2024.
- Taelon Peter scored 11 points off the bench. The redshirt senior is averaging 18.5 ppg over his last six games, scoring in double figures on all of those occasions.
- Liberty improves to 3-1 in Conference USA road games this year. This is the second league opponent the Flames have handed their first home loss to this year. On Jan. 9, Liberty bested Sam Houston 76-68.
The Flames will be back in action on Saturday at Conference USA leader Jacksonville State (14-7, 6-2 CUSA). Tip time is 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central) from Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala. and can be seen on ESPN+. Liberty (5-3 CUSA) is in a tie for four-way tie for second place in the CUSA standings.
Liberty and Jax State will be squaring off for the sixth time ever and third time with both in Conference USA. The Gamecocks swept the regular season series last year, winning 73-62 at home and 61-51 on the road.
Team Stats
Lib
KennSt
FG%
.500
.391
3FG%
.423
.188
FT%
.750
.615
RB
27
45
TO
8
12
STL
9
5
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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