Tuesday, December 16
Lynchburg, Va.
6:00 PM ET
Liberty University
7-3,0-0CUSA
95
vs
57
Midway
0-4
1
2
F
Midway
27
30
57
Liberty
50
45
95
Liberty Knocks Off Midway 95-57 in Final Home Game of Calendar Year
12/16/2025 9:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty knocked off Midway 95-57 in its final home game of the 2025 calendar year, Tuesday evening.
A balanced Flames attack saw four players score in double figures, led by 14 points apiece from Kaden Metheny and Josh Smith. Metheny eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his Liberty career with his first basket of the game, a three-pointer, at the 15:27 mark. Eleven of the 13 Flames who played tonight entered the scoring column, and Liberty shot a season-best 62.1 percent from the floor.
Liberty improves to 7-3 overall and 6-0 at home. Tonight's game was the Flames' second-to-last non-conference game. Liberty will travel to Dayton for a road contest on Saturday afternoon (12:30 p.m.), followed by its first CUSA contest after Christmas at FIU on Dec. 28.
Midway's record remains at 3-7. The Eagles counted tonight's matchup as an exhibition contest.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 14 points, 5-10 FG, 5 assists; Josh Smith 14 points, 5-6 FG, 4 rebounds; Brett Decker Jr. 12 points, 5-9 FG, 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Zander Yates 9 points, 3-4 3FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists; Zander Carter 9 points, 3-5 FG, 3 assists, 2 steals; TJ Drain 8 points, 4-4 FG
Midway Individuals: Decoreio Smith 16 points, 6-13 FG, 4 rebounds, 4 steals; Sam Parrish 8 points, 4-8 FG, 6 rebounds; Tim Fuller 8 points, 2-4 3FG; Breland Morrison 8 points, 3-6 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty's 62.1 percent shooting (36-of-68) night was its best of the 2025-26 season. The Flames knocked down 12 threes on 28 attempts (42.9 percent), led by three apiece from Zander Yates and Kaden Metheny. Midway shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) in the game and 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from long range. The Flames committed only six turnovers tonight, their fewest since also having six against Towson in the ESPN Events Invitational semifinals on Nov. 25. Liberty forced 14 Midway turnovers, leading to a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Flames held edges in rebounding (32-25),, points in the paint (44-22), bench points (38-18) and second chance points (7-4). Liberty assisted on 22 of 36 made field goals, its fourth game this year with 20 or more assists. The Flames led for 37:18 of the 40 minutes. Midway led for only 31 seconds.
Turning Point
Trailing 5-2 in the early going, Liberty broke open the game with a 16-0 run over six minutes of time. Twelve of those 16 points came via the three-pointer, with Brett Decker Jr. knocking down two triples in that span along with one three apiece from Kaden Metheny and Zander Yates. Decker Jr's triple at the 13:08 mark pushed the lead to 18-5.
The Midway Eagles never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. Liberty stretched the lead to 23 points, 50-27, at the half, capped off by a Josh Smith dunk with five ticks on the clock.
Liberty led by as many 40 late in the second half on the way to closing out the 38-point victory.
Key Stats & Notes
Up Next
Liberty will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for its final non-conference game, taking on Dayton (8-3) in a clash of mid-major powerhouses. Game time is 12:30 p.m. at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The contest can be seen on USA Network.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Flyers.
A balanced Flames attack saw four players score in double figures, led by 14 points apiece from Kaden Metheny and Josh Smith. Metheny eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his Liberty career with his first basket of the game, a three-pointer, at the 15:27 mark. Eleven of the 13 Flames who played tonight entered the scoring column, and Liberty shot a season-best 62.1 percent from the floor.
Liberty improves to 7-3 overall and 6-0 at home. Tonight's game was the Flames' second-to-last non-conference game. Liberty will travel to Dayton for a road contest on Saturday afternoon (12:30 p.m.), followed by its first CUSA contest after Christmas at FIU on Dec. 28.
Midway's record remains at 3-7. The Eagles counted tonight's matchup as an exhibition contest.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 14 points, 5-10 FG, 5 assists; Josh Smith 14 points, 5-6 FG, 4 rebounds; Brett Decker Jr. 12 points, 5-9 FG, 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Zander Yates 9 points, 3-4 3FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists; Zander Carter 9 points, 3-5 FG, 3 assists, 2 steals; TJ Drain 8 points, 4-4 FG
Midway Individuals: Decoreio Smith 16 points, 6-13 FG, 4 rebounds, 4 steals; Sam Parrish 8 points, 4-8 FG, 6 rebounds; Tim Fuller 8 points, 2-4 3FG; Breland Morrison 8 points, 3-6 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty's 62.1 percent shooting (36-of-68) night was its best of the 2025-26 season. The Flames knocked down 12 threes on 28 attempts (42.9 percent), led by three apiece from Zander Yates and Kaden Metheny. Midway shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) in the game and 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from long range. The Flames committed only six turnovers tonight, their fewest since also having six against Towson in the ESPN Events Invitational semifinals on Nov. 25. Liberty forced 14 Midway turnovers, leading to a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Flames held edges in rebounding (32-25),, points in the paint (44-22), bench points (38-18) and second chance points (7-4). Liberty assisted on 22 of 36 made field goals, its fourth game this year with 20 or more assists. The Flames led for 37:18 of the 40 minutes. Midway led for only 31 seconds.
Turning Point
Trailing 5-2 in the early going, Liberty broke open the game with a 16-0 run over six minutes of time. Twelve of those 16 points came via the three-pointer, with Brett Decker Jr. knocking down two triples in that span along with one three apiece from Kaden Metheny and Zander Yates. Decker Jr's triple at the 13:08 mark pushed the lead to 18-5.
The Midway Eagles never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. Liberty stretched the lead to 23 points, 50-27, at the half, capped off by a Josh Smith dunk with five ticks on the clock.
Liberty led by as many 40 late in the second half on the way to closing out the 38-point victory.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty is 6-0 at home and shooting 58.4 percent from the field at Liberty Arena this season. The Flames have made 86 three-pointers and are shooting 47 percent from deep at home. Brett Decker Jr. (18.7 ppg) has made 28 three-pointers at a 59.6 percent clip at home.
- Kaden Metheny eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his Flames career with a three-pointer at the 15:27 mark of the first half. Metheny has 1,013 points in two-plus seasons (76 games) for the Flames and 1,640 points for his six-year collegiate career.
- This was the Flames' last home game in the 2025 calendar year. This year, Liberty posted a 12-3 overall home mark (6-0 in 2025-26 season, 6-3 in 2024-25 season).
- Josh Smith's 14-point effort tonight was his second time in the last three games he's been in double figures.
- After tonight's triumph, Liberty is shooting 53.4 percent on the season.
- TJ Drain scored a career-high eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in only 5:49 of action. Zander Carter also set a new career and season high with nine points tonight in his 21:43 of action.
- Six of the Flames' seven wins on the year have been by 15 or more points. Liberty's average margin of victory in its seven triumphs is 30.6 points (91.4 ppg-61.9 ppg).
- This was the first-ever meeting between Liberty and Midway.
- The Flames have now won five straight games on Dec. 16. Liberty has won those five matchups by an average of 55.6 points (278 points total).
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— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) December 16, 2025
Huge congratulations to Kaden on scoring 1,000 points in a Flames uniform! ?? pic.twitter.com/LZUvEp1fFm
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) December 16, 2025
Up Next
Liberty will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for its final non-conference game, taking on Dayton (8-3) in a clash of mid-major powerhouses. Game time is 12:30 p.m. at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The contest can be seen on USA Network.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Flyers.
Team Stats
Midway
Lib
FG%
.418
.621
3FG%
.318
.429
FT%
.667
.647
RB
25
32
TO
14
6
STL
4
11
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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