Friday, November 7
Lynchburg, Va.
6:00 PM ET
Liberty University
2-0,0-0CUSA
90
vs
75
Charleston
1-1,0-0CAA
1
2
F
Col. of Charleston
34
41
75
Liberty
39
51
90
Liberty Pours it On in 2nd Half, Tops Charleston 90-75 at Field of 68 Tip-Off
11/7/2025 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty poured it on with 51 second half points and 10 three-pointers over the final 20 minutes on the way to a 90-75 victory over Charleston, Friday night at the Field of 68 Tip-Off event at Liberty Arena.
Liberty led by five at intermission before breaking the game open in the second half to record the victory and improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Flames have defeated the Cougars in back-to-back seasons and topped Charleston two games to one in three years at the Field of 68 Tip-Off event. Charleston falls to 1-1 on the year. The Cougars will be back in action Saturday night at Liberty Arena against Florida Atlantic (1-0). Liberty will close out the event by hosting the FAU Owls on Sunday night at 6 p.m.
Colin Porter tallied a game-high 23 points, the second highest scoring output of his career. Meanwhile, Brett Decker Jr. eclipsed the 20-point mark for the second game in a row with 21 points this evening. Kaden Metheny poured in 18 points, 13 of which came in the second stanza. Zach Cleveland flirted with a triple-double, finishing the evening with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for his second straight double-double. Martin Kalu (22 points) and Chol Machot (18 points) led the Cougars with 40 combined points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Colin Porter 23 points, 8-10 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4-4 FT; Brett Decker Jr. 21 points 8-16 FG, 5-10 3FG; Kaden Metheny 18 points, 5-8 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 12 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks; JJ Harper 8 points, 3-4 FG
Charleston Individuals: Martin Kalu 22 points, 7-11 FG, 4-7 3FG, 7 rebounds; Chol Machot 18 points, 6-9 FG, 9 rebounds; Jaxon Prunty 10 points, 4-7 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.2 percent (32-of-59) from the field and 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from long distance. The Flames were 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from deep in the second half. Charleston finished the night shooting 49.1 percent (27-of-55) and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three. Liberty only committed five turnovers tonight while forcing 12 turnovers. The Flames won the battle for points off turnovers (18-7), points in the paint (36-28) and fast break points (7-4). The Cougars held a rebounding edge (33-31) and led in bench points (29-8) and second chance points (18-13).
Turning Point
Liberty led 39-34 at the break before surging ahead with a 21-8 run in the first 5:05 of the second half to take a 60-42 advantage with 14:55 remaining. The Flames' Kaden Metheny knocked down three three-pointers in three consecutive trips down the court, punctuated by a make at the 17:13 mark for a 52-40 advantage. Liberty led by double digits the rest of the way. Brett Decker Jr. and Colin Porter chipped in five points apiece during the run as well, while Zach Cleveland added a second chance bucket at the 14:55 mark that pushed the lead to 60-42.
Charleston drew within 10, 62-52, with 11:48 on the clock, but Liberty answered with two threes from Decker Jr. and another from Porter, followed by a pair of free throws by Zach Cleveland, to push ahead 73-57 with 8:50 left. The Cougars trimmed the lead to 10 (73-63) one other time, but another Decker Jr. three and pair of free throws from JJ Harper made it a 78-63 lead with 6:44 to go.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will close out the Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off event on Sunday evening versus Florida Atlantic (1-0). Game time is 6 p.m. at Liberty Arena and can also be seen on the Field of 68 YouTube page.
Liberty led by five at intermission before breaking the game open in the second half to record the victory and improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Flames have defeated the Cougars in back-to-back seasons and topped Charleston two games to one in three years at the Field of 68 Tip-Off event. Charleston falls to 1-1 on the year. The Cougars will be back in action Saturday night at Liberty Arena against Florida Atlantic (1-0). Liberty will close out the event by hosting the FAU Owls on Sunday night at 6 p.m.
Colin Porter tallied a game-high 23 points, the second highest scoring output of his career. Meanwhile, Brett Decker Jr. eclipsed the 20-point mark for the second game in a row with 21 points this evening. Kaden Metheny poured in 18 points, 13 of which came in the second stanza. Zach Cleveland flirted with a triple-double, finishing the evening with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for his second straight double-double. Martin Kalu (22 points) and Chol Machot (18 points) led the Cougars with 40 combined points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Colin Porter 23 points, 8-10 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4-4 FT; Brett Decker Jr. 21 points 8-16 FG, 5-10 3FG; Kaden Metheny 18 points, 5-8 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Zach Cleveland 12 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks; JJ Harper 8 points, 3-4 FG
Charleston Individuals: Martin Kalu 22 points, 7-11 FG, 4-7 3FG, 7 rebounds; Chol Machot 18 points, 6-9 FG, 9 rebounds; Jaxon Prunty 10 points, 4-7 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.2 percent (32-of-59) from the field and 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from long distance. The Flames were 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from deep in the second half. Charleston finished the night shooting 49.1 percent (27-of-55) and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three. Liberty only committed five turnovers tonight while forcing 12 turnovers. The Flames won the battle for points off turnovers (18-7), points in the paint (36-28) and fast break points (7-4). The Cougars held a rebounding edge (33-31) and led in bench points (29-8) and second chance points (18-13).
Turning Point
Liberty led 39-34 at the break before surging ahead with a 21-8 run in the first 5:05 of the second half to take a 60-42 advantage with 14:55 remaining. The Flames' Kaden Metheny knocked down three three-pointers in three consecutive trips down the court, punctuated by a make at the 17:13 mark for a 52-40 advantage. Liberty led by double digits the rest of the way. Brett Decker Jr. and Colin Porter chipped in five points apiece during the run as well, while Zach Cleveland added a second chance bucket at the 14:55 mark that pushed the lead to 60-42.
Charleston drew within 10, 62-52, with 11:48 on the clock, but Liberty answered with two threes from Decker Jr. and another from Porter, followed by a pair of free throws by Zach Cleveland, to push ahead 73-57 with 8:50 left. The Cougars trimmed the lead to 10 (73-63) one other time, but another Decker Jr. three and pair of free throws from JJ Harper made it a 78-63 lead with 6:44 to go.
Key Stats & Notes
- Kaden Metheny was a game-high +28 for the Flames in his 35:06 of action.
- Brett Decker Jr. is averaging 25.0 points per game through two contests and has knocked down 13 three-pointers. Colin Porter is averaging 16.0 ppg on 73.3 percent shooting.
- Zach Cleveland is averaging 12.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 6.5 rpg on the year. In the last two meetings with the Cougars, the forward is averaging 16.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 3.0 bpg.
- Liberty has defeated Charleston in back-to-back years by a combined 36 points. Last year, the Flames bested the Cougars 68-47 a season ago.
- The Flames have made 30 three-pointers through two games and are shooting 48.4 percent from long distance.
- Liberty's 90 points tonight are its most against a Division I foe since scoring 90 in a 90-61 against Western Kentucky in the CUSA regular season finale, last year (March 8, 2025).
- Redshirt senior Josh Smith saw his first action tonight for the Flames, playing 3:40.
- Liberty moves its record to 2-3 all-time versus Charleston and is 2-1 against the Cougars over the last three seasons.
Liberty will close out the Field of 68 Media Network Tip-Off event on Sunday evening versus Florida Atlantic (1-0). Game time is 6 p.m. at Liberty Arena and can also be seen on the Field of 68 YouTube page.
Team Stats
CC
Lib
FG%
.491
.542
3FG%
.455
.483
FT%
.647
.706
RB
33
31
TO
12
5
STL
1
5
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballCoach McKay Talks About The Win Over Charleston
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