Monday, November 17
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
4-0,0-0CUSA
98
vs
46
Carolina University
0-2
1
2
F
CarolinaU
19
27
46
Liberty
49
49
98
Balanced Liberty Tops Carolina University 98-46, Monday Night
11/17/2025 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A balanced Liberty offense which featured seven players with eight or more points helped the Flames top visiting Carolina University 98-46, Monday night at Liberty Arena.
Zander Yates and JJ Harper paced Liberty with 15 points apiece, and Zach Cleveland nearly notched a triple-double with eight points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. JC Shirer Jr. tallied a career-high 10 points in the win.
The Flames improve to 4-0 on the year, with all four triumphs coming on their home floor. The Bruins' record remains at 2-4, as they counted tonight's counted as an exhibition. Liberty knocked down 15 three-pointers and shot 59.6 percent from the field. The Flames have shot better than 54 percent in all four games to open the season and are shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from three.
Next week, Liberty will play three games in three days (Monday-Wednesday) at the 2025 Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Fla. The Flames' first opponent will be Vermont (4-0), next Monday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zander Yates 15 points, 5-5 3FG, 3 rebounds; JJ Harper 15 points, 5-6 FG, 3-4 3FG, +50 (game high); Brett Decker Jr. 11 points, 4-8 FG; JC Shirer Jr. 10 points, 4-5 FG; Zach Cleveland 8 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists; Zander Carter 8 points, 5 assists
Carolina University Individuals: Devan Edwards 12 points, 5-8 FG, 2-4 3FG; Tristan Kuska 10 points, 5-6 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 59.6 percent (34-of-57) from the field and 42.9 percent (15-of-35) from three-point land. The Flames have knocked down 58 three-pointers in four games. The Flames' defense held Carolina to 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the floor and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from three. Liberty shot 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line, compared to 60 percent (6-of-10) for Carolina. The Flames were +23 on the glass, outrebounding the Bruins by a 42-19 margin. Zach Cleveland led the Flames with 10 boards, his fourth game in a row with exactly 10 rebounds.
Liberty also held notable advantages in bench points (51-30), points in the paint (36-26) and points off turnovers (16-6). The Flames held a 24-9 edge in assists as well, matching a season high in assists. Liberty, who entered the night 10th nationally in turnovers per game (8.0), turned the ball over only seven times tonight compared to 10 for Carolina.
Turning Point
Leading 20-12 at the 8:50 mark of the opening half, the Flames went on a 17-2 run to stretch their lead to 23 (37-14) before pushing the margin to 30 (49-19) at the break. Brett Decker Jr. finished the opening half with 11 points, while Zach Cleveland notched eight points, six boards and five assists. Brady Kester (four points) and Josh Smith (three points) both tallied their first points as Flames in the opening stanza. Smith made a free throw only 12 seconds into the contest to get into the scoring column, and Kester's first career bucket came on a layup with 4:56 to play in the half.
The closest Carolina U got in the second half within 26 points, 64-38 at the 11:11 mark following a 6-0 run, but Liberty scored 34 of the game's final 42 points to push the final margin of victory to 52 points. The Flames' balanced attack saw seven players with eight or more points.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will begin gearing up for next week's 2025 ESPN Events Invitational. The Flames will face the Vermont Catamounts (4-0) in a quarterfinal matchup, next Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Walt Disney World Resort's State Farm Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimee, Fla. This contest will be carried live on ESPNU.
The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the first quarterfinal game (11 a.m.) between Rhode Island and Towson. The other side of the bracket features quarterfinal matchups between Temple and UC San Diego (4:30 p.m.) and Princeton and Bradley (7 p.m.), each held next Monday as well.
Zander Yates and JJ Harper paced Liberty with 15 points apiece, and Zach Cleveland nearly notched a triple-double with eight points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. JC Shirer Jr. tallied a career-high 10 points in the win.
The Flames improve to 4-0 on the year, with all four triumphs coming on their home floor. The Bruins' record remains at 2-4, as they counted tonight's counted as an exhibition. Liberty knocked down 15 three-pointers and shot 59.6 percent from the field. The Flames have shot better than 54 percent in all four games to open the season and are shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from three.
Next week, Liberty will play three games in three days (Monday-Wednesday) at the 2025 Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Fla. The Flames' first opponent will be Vermont (4-0), next Monday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zander Yates 15 points, 5-5 3FG, 3 rebounds; JJ Harper 15 points, 5-6 FG, 3-4 3FG, +50 (game high); Brett Decker Jr. 11 points, 4-8 FG; JC Shirer Jr. 10 points, 4-5 FG; Zach Cleveland 8 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists; Zander Carter 8 points, 5 assists
Carolina University Individuals: Devan Edwards 12 points, 5-8 FG, 2-4 3FG; Tristan Kuska 10 points, 5-6 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 59.6 percent (34-of-57) from the field and 42.9 percent (15-of-35) from three-point land. The Flames have knocked down 58 three-pointers in four games. The Flames' defense held Carolina to 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from the floor and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from three. Liberty shot 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line, compared to 60 percent (6-of-10) for Carolina. The Flames were +23 on the glass, outrebounding the Bruins by a 42-19 margin. Zach Cleveland led the Flames with 10 boards, his fourth game in a row with exactly 10 rebounds.
Liberty also held notable advantages in bench points (51-30), points in the paint (36-26) and points off turnovers (16-6). The Flames held a 24-9 edge in assists as well, matching a season high in assists. Liberty, who entered the night 10th nationally in turnovers per game (8.0), turned the ball over only seven times tonight compared to 10 for Carolina.
Turning Point
Leading 20-12 at the 8:50 mark of the opening half, the Flames went on a 17-2 run to stretch their lead to 23 (37-14) before pushing the margin to 30 (49-19) at the break. Brett Decker Jr. finished the opening half with 11 points, while Zach Cleveland notched eight points, six boards and five assists. Brady Kester (four points) and Josh Smith (three points) both tallied their first points as Flames in the opening stanza. Smith made a free throw only 12 seconds into the contest to get into the scoring column, and Kester's first career bucket came on a layup with 4:56 to play in the half.
The closest Carolina U got in the second half within 26 points, 64-38 at the 11:11 mark following a 6-0 run, but Liberty scored 34 of the game's final 42 points to push the final margin of victory to 52 points. The Flames' balanced attack saw seven players with eight or more points.
Key Stats & Notes
- Zach Cleveland is averaging nearly a triple-double on the season with 10.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game.
- Zander Yates scored 15 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point territory. Prior to Yates' effort tonight, the last Flame to go 5-of-5 or better from three was Jayvon Maughmer in last year's regular season finale at Western Kentucky (March 8, 2025)
- JJ Harper's 15 points tonight are his most in a Liberty uniform.
- Josh Smith made his first start in a Flames jersey and scored his first points as a member of Liberty. Smith finished with five points in 11 minutes of action.
- JC Shirer Jr.'s 10 points are a new career high. He scored seven of those 10 points after intermission. The guard's previous career high was seven points against Mid-Atlantic Christian on Nov. 6, 2023.
- Freshman Zander Carter's eight points and five assists are both career highs.
- The Flames have scored 88 or more points in every game this year and are averaging 93.5 points per game while surrendering only 61.5 points per contest.
- Liberty is 4-0 to start the season for the second time in the last three years.
- Twelve of the 13 Flames who appeared in tonight's game entered the scoring column. Brady Kester (four points, three rebounds) scored his first collegiate points.
- The Flames have now defeated the Bruins in back-to-back seasons. Last year, Liberty knocked off Carolina 81-45 in the home opener.
Liberty will begin gearing up for next week's 2025 ESPN Events Invitational. The Flames will face the Vermont Catamounts (4-0) in a quarterfinal matchup, next Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Walt Disney World Resort's State Farm Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimee, Fla. This contest will be carried live on ESPNU.
The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the first quarterfinal game (11 a.m.) between Rhode Island and Towson. The other side of the bracket features quarterfinal matchups between Temple and UC San Diego (4:30 p.m.) and Princeton and Bradley (7 p.m.), each held next Monday as well.
Team Stats
PI
Lib
FG%
.346
.596
3FG%
.222
.429
FT%
.600
.789
RB
19
42
TO
10
7
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballCoach McKay Talks About The Win Over FAU
Monday, November 10
Brett Decker Jr. & Kaden Metheny Talk About The Win Over FAU
Monday, November 10
Coach McKay Talks About The Win Over Charleston
Saturday, November 08
Colin Porter & Kaden Metheny Talk About The Win Over Charleston
Saturday, November 08