Saturday, February 15
El Paso, Texas
9:00 PM ET/7:00 PM MT
Liberty University
21-5,9-4CUSA
76
at
69
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
17-8,7-5CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
32
44
76
UTEP
35
34
69
Peter had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Resilient Liberty Comes Back to Best UTEP 76-69
2/15/2025 11:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EL PASO, Texas – A resilient Liberty squad erased a nine-point second half deficit and came back to best host UTEP 76-69, Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center.
Liberty earns its fourth straight win overall and improves to 21-5 on the year and 9-4 in CUSA action. The Flames are now 7-2 on the road and 5-2 in CUSA road matchups. UTEP falls to 17-8 on the year and 7-5 in the league after only its third home loss (11-3) of the year. The Miners see a two-game winning streak ended and suffer their first home loss since Jan. 23.
This is the first time Liberty has swept a two-game Conference USA road trip since joining the league prior to the 2023-24 season. The Flames knocked down 14 three-pointers tonight, their most in a CUSA game this year. Taelon Peter paced the Flames with five triples and a double-double of a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Owen Aquino notched his team-best fifth double-double of the season, scoring 13 points to go along with 10 boards. Kaden Metheny finished with 13 points and hit several big shots late in the win.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 23 points, 10 rebounds, 9-17 FG, 5-9 3FG; Owen Aquino 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5-7 FG; Kaden Metheny 13 points, 3-5 3FG, 5 assists; Zander Yates 8 points, 2-3 3FG, 3 rebounds; Colin Porter 7 points, 6 assists; Zach Cleveland 6 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds
UTEP Individuals: Otis Frazier III 16 points, 6-6 FT, 2 blocks; David Terrell Jr. 10 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals; Corey Camper Jr. 10 points, 5-9 FG; Ahamad Bynum 9 points, 3-11 3FG; Trey Horton 9 points, 3-4 3FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 47.4 percent (27-of-57), including a 53.3 percent (16-of-30) mark in the second half. The Flames held the Miners to 42.6 percent (26-of-61). Liberty is 19-1 on the year when outshooting its counterpart. The Flames held edges in rebounding (39-31), assists (21-14), second chance points (9-8) and bench points (31-26). UTEP held advantages in points off turnovers (16-8), points in the paint (34-26) and fast break points (20-4). The Flames committed 11 turnovers on the night, while the Miners only had six. Liberty had eight turnovers in the first 11:40 and only three over the final 28:40. The Miners led for 28:30, and the Flames led for 7:44.
Turning Point
UTEP took a 48-39 lead on Liberty with 12:42 remaining before the Flames began to mount a comeback. The Flames still trailed 53-46 with 9:35 left but scored 16 of the next 19 points to surge ahead 62-56 with 4:54 remaining. Towards the tail end of the run, Owen Aquino knocked down a pair of free throws and then scored again to even the score at 56-all with 6:09 left.
On the next two trips down the court, Kaden Metheny buried threes to give the Flames a 62-56 lead with 4:54 left. Metheny canned a pair of free throws, followed by a Taelon Peter three, to push the lead to nine (67-58) with 3:46 remaining. The Miners closed within three, 72-69, with 52 seconds left. On Liberty's next trip down the court, Metheny made a scoop shot on a driving layup late in the shot clock with 25 seconds to play to put the guests ahead 74-69. The Flames' defense held the Miners off the scoreboard the rest of the way to preserve the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will play its next game a week from today at home against the FIU Panthers (8-18, 2-11 CUSA). Game time next Saturday is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
The Flames topped the Panthers 82-59 on Jan. 25 at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Liberty earns its fourth straight win overall and improves to 21-5 on the year and 9-4 in CUSA action. The Flames are now 7-2 on the road and 5-2 in CUSA road matchups. UTEP falls to 17-8 on the year and 7-5 in the league after only its third home loss (11-3) of the year. The Miners see a two-game winning streak ended and suffer their first home loss since Jan. 23.
This is the first time Liberty has swept a two-game Conference USA road trip since joining the league prior to the 2023-24 season. The Flames knocked down 14 three-pointers tonight, their most in a CUSA game this year. Taelon Peter paced the Flames with five triples and a double-double of a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Owen Aquino notched his team-best fifth double-double of the season, scoring 13 points to go along with 10 boards. Kaden Metheny finished with 13 points and hit several big shots late in the win.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 23 points, 10 rebounds, 9-17 FG, 5-9 3FG; Owen Aquino 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5-7 FG; Kaden Metheny 13 points, 3-5 3FG, 5 assists; Zander Yates 8 points, 2-3 3FG, 3 rebounds; Colin Porter 7 points, 6 assists; Zach Cleveland 6 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds
UTEP Individuals: Otis Frazier III 16 points, 6-6 FT, 2 blocks; David Terrell Jr. 10 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals; Corey Camper Jr. 10 points, 5-9 FG; Ahamad Bynum 9 points, 3-11 3FG; Trey Horton 9 points, 3-4 3FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 47.4 percent (27-of-57), including a 53.3 percent (16-of-30) mark in the second half. The Flames held the Miners to 42.6 percent (26-of-61). Liberty is 19-1 on the year when outshooting its counterpart. The Flames held edges in rebounding (39-31), assists (21-14), second chance points (9-8) and bench points (31-26). UTEP held advantages in points off turnovers (16-8), points in the paint (34-26) and fast break points (20-4). The Flames committed 11 turnovers on the night, while the Miners only had six. Liberty had eight turnovers in the first 11:40 and only three over the final 28:40. The Miners led for 28:30, and the Flames led for 7:44.
Turning Point
UTEP took a 48-39 lead on Liberty with 12:42 remaining before the Flames began to mount a comeback. The Flames still trailed 53-46 with 9:35 left but scored 16 of the next 19 points to surge ahead 62-56 with 4:54 remaining. Towards the tail end of the run, Owen Aquino knocked down a pair of free throws and then scored again to even the score at 56-all with 6:09 left.
On the next two trips down the court, Kaden Metheny buried threes to give the Flames a 62-56 lead with 4:54 left. Metheny canned a pair of free throws, followed by a Taelon Peter three, to push the lead to nine (67-58) with 3:46 remaining. The Miners closed within three, 72-69, with 52 seconds left. On Liberty's next trip down the court, Metheny made a scoop shot on a driving layup late in the shot clock with 25 seconds to play to put the guests ahead 74-69. The Flames' defense held the Miners off the scoreboard the rest of the way to preserve the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
- Taelon Peter's double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds) was his first in a Liberty uniform. Owen Aquino's double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) was his first since recording 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 76-68 road win at Sam Houston, Jan. 9.
- Peter notched his sixth 20-point game of the season and second of the weekend. In two regular season meetings with the Miners, the guard averaged 21.5 ppg and 21.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg.
- Liberty (9-4 CUSA) remains in second place in the Conference USA standings, one game behind Jacksonville State (10-3 CUSA).
- The Flames' 14 three-pointers are their most in a CUSA game this year and most since knocking down 15 versus UT Arlington, Dec. 21. Liberty's previous high in a conference game was 12 triples, nine days ago (Feb. 6) in a 77-53 home win over LA Tech.
- Liberty's 21 assists tonight are tied for the third most this season and most since notching 24 against UT Arlington.
- Zander Yates provided a spark off the bench with eight points, all in the first half. His eight points were one off his season high of nine, which he set against Mississippi Valley on Dec. 7.
- With six points tonight, Zach Cleveland moved into a tie for 50th place on the program's all-time scoring list with 730 career points. Cleveland is tied for 50th with Andrew Smith.
- Liberty trailed UTEP 35-32 at halftime and trailed by as many as 11 in the opening frame. This is the second straight game the Flames have been down at the half after going the first 24 games without trailing at intermission. Liberty was down 29-24 at NM State on Thursday night before coming back to win 64-54.
- Liberty is one of 19 teams in the nation with 21 or more wins.
- The Flames and Miners split the regular season series, with both road teams claiming victory. UTEP edged Liberty 72-70, Jan. 16 in Lynchburg.
- Liberty improves to 2-0 all-time against UTEP inside the Don Haskins Center and snaps a three-game losing skid to the Miners. The Flames are now 2-3 all-time versus the Miners.
Liberty will play its next game a week from today at home against the FIU Panthers (8-18, 2-11 CUSA). Game time next Saturday is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
The Flames topped the Panthers 82-59 on Jan. 25 at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Team Stats
Lib
UTEP
FG%
.474
.426
3FG%
.483
.346
FT%
.533
.889
RB
39
31
TO
11
6
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballMy Moment: Colin Porter
Tuesday, December 02
Coach McKay Talks About The 2026-27 Signing Class
Thursday, November 20
Coach McKay Talks About The Win Over Carolina
Tuesday, November 18
Josh Smith & JC Shirer Jr. Talk About The Win Over Carolina
Tuesday, November 18