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Thursday, February 13
Las Cruces, N.M.
9:00 PM ET/7:00 PM MT
Liberty University
20-5,8-4CUSA
64
at
54
New Mexico State
12-12,5-6CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
24
40
64
New Mexico St.
29
25
54
2nd Half Defense Keys 64-54 Flames Road Win Over Aggies
2/13/2025 11:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Liberty's stout defense keyed a come-from-behind 64-54 road win over New Mexico State, giving the Flames their 20th win of the season.
The Flames improve to 20-5 on the season with their third straight win and move into solo second place in the Conference USA standings. Liberty has won 20 or more games in eight of the last nine seasons. The Flames also improve to 6-2 overall on the road and 4-2 in CUSA road contests.
NM State falls to 12-12 overall and below .500 in league play at 5-6 with their third straight loss overall. The Aggies slip to 7-5 at home. This is Liberty's first win on the road at the Pan American Center. The Flames have now bested the Aggies in three straight meetings after falling in overtime to NM State last year in Las Cruces.
Liberty trailed at halftime for the first time all season before coming back for the victory. Taelon Peter paced the Flames with a game-high 20 points off the bench, his fifth 20-plus point game of the season. Owen Aquino chipped in 11 points and was 6-of-6 from the foul line. Liberty's top six contributors scored seven or more points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 20 points, 6-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, 6 rebounds, 2 steals; Owen Aquino 11 points, 6-6 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; Kaden Metheny 9 points; Colin Porter 9 points, 3 assists; Jayvon Maughmer 8 points, 8 rebounds; Zach Cleveland 7 points, 8 rebounds
New Mexico State Individuals: Zawdie Jackson 18 points, 5-6 FT, 4 rebounds; Christian Cook 11 points, 5-17 FG; Carl Cherenfant 7 points, 3-4 FG, 5 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 44.4 percent (20-of-45) from the field, including a 52.4 percent (11-of-21) mark in the second half. NM State only managed to shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) on the night and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) over the final 20 minutes. Liberty went to the line a season-high 30 times, making 18 shots (60 percent). It was a tale of two halves, with the Flames shooting 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the charity stripe in the second frame after struggling in the first half at 21.1 percent (3-of-14). The Aggies were 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the foul line. NM State held a narrow edge in rebounding (32-31), points in the paint (26-24), bench points (25-20) and steals (7-6). Liberty led in assists (10-7) and points off turnovers (11-7). Liberty committed nine turnovers compared to 10 for NM State. The Flames led for 33:03 of the 40 minutes, while the Aggies led for only 5:56.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed 29-24 at the half, its first time trailing at half all season. The Flames struggled from the foul line in the opening stanza, making only 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) of its attempts. Liberty's defense fueled the second half turnaround, surrendering only 12 Aggies points over the first 16:30 of the second stanza. NM State managed only four field goals and two free throws during that span and went the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second frame without a field goal.
Liberty opened the half on a 12-1 run to go ahead 36-30 with 14:36 left. During that run, Taelon Peter hit a pair of triples, and Owen Aquino's pair of free throws pushed the advantage to six. Peter's triple with 7:35 remaining gave the Flames their first double digit lead, 49-39. The Flames' biggest lead came with 1:29 to go, 62-47. Liberty also turned it around in drastic fashion from the foul line in the second half, hitting on 15-of-16 attempts (93.8). Aquino was 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, while Peter was 4-of-4.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames will wrap up the weekend at the UTEP Miners (17-7, 7-4 CUSA), Saturday night. Game time between Liberty and UTEP is slated for 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Mountain) at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. The contest can be seen on ESPN+.
The Miners edged the Flames 72-70, Jan. 16 at Liberty Arena. UTEP holds a 3-1 edge in the all-time series and has won each of the last three meetings dating back to last season.
The Flames improve to 20-5 on the season with their third straight win and move into solo second place in the Conference USA standings. Liberty has won 20 or more games in eight of the last nine seasons. The Flames also improve to 6-2 overall on the road and 4-2 in CUSA road contests.
NM State falls to 12-12 overall and below .500 in league play at 5-6 with their third straight loss overall. The Aggies slip to 7-5 at home. This is Liberty's first win on the road at the Pan American Center. The Flames have now bested the Aggies in three straight meetings after falling in overtime to NM State last year in Las Cruces.
Liberty trailed at halftime for the first time all season before coming back for the victory. Taelon Peter paced the Flames with a game-high 20 points off the bench, his fifth 20-plus point game of the season. Owen Aquino chipped in 11 points and was 6-of-6 from the foul line. Liberty's top six contributors scored seven or more points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 20 points, 6-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, 6 rebounds, 2 steals; Owen Aquino 11 points, 6-6 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; Kaden Metheny 9 points; Colin Porter 9 points, 3 assists; Jayvon Maughmer 8 points, 8 rebounds; Zach Cleveland 7 points, 8 rebounds
New Mexico State Individuals: Zawdie Jackson 18 points, 5-6 FT, 4 rebounds; Christian Cook 11 points, 5-17 FG; Carl Cherenfant 7 points, 3-4 FG, 5 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 44.4 percent (20-of-45) from the field, including a 52.4 percent (11-of-21) mark in the second half. NM State only managed to shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58) on the night and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) over the final 20 minutes. Liberty went to the line a season-high 30 times, making 18 shots (60 percent). It was a tale of two halves, with the Flames shooting 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the charity stripe in the second frame after struggling in the first half at 21.1 percent (3-of-14). The Aggies were 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the foul line. NM State held a narrow edge in rebounding (32-31), points in the paint (26-24), bench points (25-20) and steals (7-6). Liberty led in assists (10-7) and points off turnovers (11-7). Liberty committed nine turnovers compared to 10 for NM State. The Flames led for 33:03 of the 40 minutes, while the Aggies led for only 5:56.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed 29-24 at the half, its first time trailing at half all season. The Flames struggled from the foul line in the opening stanza, making only 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) of its attempts. Liberty's defense fueled the second half turnaround, surrendering only 12 Aggies points over the first 16:30 of the second stanza. NM State managed only four field goals and two free throws during that span and went the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second frame without a field goal.
Liberty opened the half on a 12-1 run to go ahead 36-30 with 14:36 left. During that run, Taelon Peter hit a pair of triples, and Owen Aquino's pair of free throws pushed the advantage to six. Peter's triple with 7:35 remaining gave the Flames their first double digit lead, 49-39. The Flames' biggest lead came with 1:29 to go, 62-47. Liberty also turned it around in drastic fashion from the foul line in the second half, hitting on 15-of-16 attempts (93.8). Aquino was 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, while Peter was 4-of-4.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty secures its eighth 20-win season over the last nine years.
- The Flames turned in their best defensive effort in league play, holding the Aggies to 54 points. Liberty's two best defensive games in CUSA action this season have come against NM State. The Flames held the Aggies to 60 points in a 68-60 home triumph, Jan. 18 at Liberty Arena. Since Liberty defeated NM State the first time, the Aggies have lost six of their last seven games overall.
- Taelon Peter continues to shine in Conference USA games. The redshirt senior is averaging a team-best 15.7 ppg in 12 league games. Peter has scored 15 or more points in seven of his last 10 games, averaging 17.1 ppg on 60.9 percent shooting during that span. Peter is also shooting 47.3 percent from beyond the arc in his last 10, connecting on 26-of-55 attempts.
- Liberty's eight Conference USA victories surpass last year's win total in league play. The Flames were 7-9 in conference contests in their first season in CUSA. Liberty will play 18 CUSA regular season games this season.
- Liberty also improves to 6-2 on the road this year. The Flames were 2-8 away from home last season.
- Owen Aquino (11 points) notched his first game in double figures since also scoring 11 points against NM State back on Jan. 18.
- Liberty (8-4 CUSA) sits at No. 2 in the CUSA standings, a half game ahead of Middle Tennessee (7-4) and UTEP (7-4). The Flames are one game back of Jacksonville State (9-3), who fell 66-61 at Sam Houston on Thursday night.
The Flames will wrap up the weekend at the UTEP Miners (17-7, 7-4 CUSA), Saturday night. Game time between Liberty and UTEP is slated for 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Mountain) at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. The contest can be seen on ESPN+.
The Miners edged the Flames 72-70, Jan. 16 at Liberty Arena. UTEP holds a 3-1 edge in the all-time series and has won each of the last three meetings dating back to last season.
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Team Stats
Lib
NMSU
FG%
.444
.345
3FG%
.273
.200
FT%
.600
.714
RB
31
32
TO
8
10
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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