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Thursday, March 6
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM ET
Liberty University
24-6,12-5CUSA
86
at
81
Middle Tennessee
20-10,11-6CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
42
44
86
Middle Tenn.
37
44
81
Peter matched a career high with 33 points off the bench at MTSU.
Flames Battle Past Blue Raiders For 86-81 Road Victory
3/6/2025 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Liberty Flames battled past the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders for an 86-81 road victory, Thursday night at the Murphy Center.
Taelon Peter matched a career high with 33 points off the bench on 11-of-14 shooting and six rebounds and three steals in the winning effort.
The Flames improve to 24-6 overall and move into a tie for first place in the CUSA standings at 12-5 with one regular season game remaining. Liberty, which swept the regular season series from MTSU, has locked up a top two seed for next week's 2025 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship in Huntsville, Ala.
The Flames bolster their road record to 8-2 overall, including a 6-2 CUSA road mark. Middle Tennessee, which got a 30-point, 20-rebound effort from Essam Mostafa, falls to 20-10 on the season and 11-6 in league play. The Blue Raiders (10-4) suffer only their fourth home loss.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 33 points, 11-14 FG, 3-6 3FG, 8-8 FT, 6 rebounds, 3 steals; Zach Cleveland 16 points, 6-9 FG, 4-5 FT, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks; Owen Aquino 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 7 points, 6 assists; Zander Yates 6 points, 2-4 3FG
Middle Tennessee Individuals: Essam Mostafa 30 points, 12-18 FG, 30 rebounds; Kamari Lands 15 points; Camryn Weston 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the field, including a 63 percent mark (17-of-27) in the opening half. Middle Tennessee finished the night shooting 43.8 percent (28-of-64). The two teams combined for 46 free throw attempts, with Liberty going 18-of-20 (90 percent) and MTSU sinking 18-of-26 (69.2 percent). The Flames shot 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from long distance while holding the Blue Raiders to 25 percent (7-of-28). The Blue Raiders held a 39-28 edge in rebounding, led by 20 boards from Mostafa. The Flames won the battle for assists (17-9), points off turnovers (20-9), points in the paint (44-40), fast break points (15-7) and bench points (39-30). MTSU committed 12 turnovers, compared to 11 for Liberty. The Blue Raiders led 20-8 in second chance points. Liberty led for 33:09 of the 40 minutes, and MTSU led for 3:33. The biggest lead in the game was nine by the Flames in the second half.
Turning Point
Neither team established a double-digit lead on the night. Liberty shot 63 percent from the floor in the first half in building a 42-37 advantage.
The Flames led 68-65 with 6:41 remaining before getting a little separation from the Blue Raiders. Taelon Peter started the 9-4 spurt with a three-point and followed it up with another basket at the 5:06 mark to make it a 73-67 lead. On the next MTSU possession, Jayvon Maughmer came up with a steal and found Owen Aquino in the lane for a two-handed dunk to put the guests ahead by eight, 75-67, with 4:47 remaining. Liberty maintained that eight-point edge (77-69) after its next possession following a driving layup with Zach Cleveland. The Flames' biggest lead of the night came courtesy of a three-point play from Owen Aquino on a feed from Colin Porter with 2:38 left, making it an 80-71 game.
MTSU got within three, 82-79, with 18 seconds to play following an Essam Mostafa triple. Peter made all four of his free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will conclude its regular season with a road matchup at Western Kentucky (17-13, 8-9 CUSA), Saturday afternoon. Game time is 3 p.m. Eastern (2 p.m. Central) from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
WKU edged Liberty 71-70 in both teams' CUSA opener back on Jan. 2 at Liberty Arena. The Hilltoppers hold a 2-1 series edge.
Taelon Peter matched a career high with 33 points off the bench on 11-of-14 shooting and six rebounds and three steals in the winning effort.
The Flames improve to 24-6 overall and move into a tie for first place in the CUSA standings at 12-5 with one regular season game remaining. Liberty, which swept the regular season series from MTSU, has locked up a top two seed for next week's 2025 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship in Huntsville, Ala.
The Flames bolster their road record to 8-2 overall, including a 6-2 CUSA road mark. Middle Tennessee, which got a 30-point, 20-rebound effort from Essam Mostafa, falls to 20-10 on the season and 11-6 in league play. The Blue Raiders (10-4) suffer only their fourth home loss.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Taelon Peter 33 points, 11-14 FG, 3-6 3FG, 8-8 FT, 6 rebounds, 3 steals; Zach Cleveland 16 points, 6-9 FG, 4-5 FT, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks; Owen Aquino 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 7 points, 6 assists; Zander Yates 6 points, 2-4 3FG
Middle Tennessee Individuals: Essam Mostafa 30 points, 12-18 FG, 30 rebounds; Kamari Lands 15 points; Camryn Weston 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the field, including a 63 percent mark (17-of-27) in the opening half. Middle Tennessee finished the night shooting 43.8 percent (28-of-64). The two teams combined for 46 free throw attempts, with Liberty going 18-of-20 (90 percent) and MTSU sinking 18-of-26 (69.2 percent). The Flames shot 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from long distance while holding the Blue Raiders to 25 percent (7-of-28). The Blue Raiders held a 39-28 edge in rebounding, led by 20 boards from Mostafa. The Flames won the battle for assists (17-9), points off turnovers (20-9), points in the paint (44-40), fast break points (15-7) and bench points (39-30). MTSU committed 12 turnovers, compared to 11 for Liberty. The Blue Raiders led 20-8 in second chance points. Liberty led for 33:09 of the 40 minutes, and MTSU led for 3:33. The biggest lead in the game was nine by the Flames in the second half.
Turning Point
Neither team established a double-digit lead on the night. Liberty shot 63 percent from the floor in the first half in building a 42-37 advantage.
The Flames led 68-65 with 6:41 remaining before getting a little separation from the Blue Raiders. Taelon Peter started the 9-4 spurt with a three-point and followed it up with another basket at the 5:06 mark to make it a 73-67 lead. On the next MTSU possession, Jayvon Maughmer came up with a steal and found Owen Aquino in the lane for a two-handed dunk to put the guests ahead by eight, 75-67, with 4:47 remaining. Liberty maintained that eight-point edge (77-69) after its next possession following a driving layup with Zach Cleveland. The Flames' biggest lead of the night came courtesy of a three-point play from Owen Aquino on a feed from Colin Porter with 2:38 left, making it an 80-71 game.
MTSU got within three, 82-79, with 18 seconds to play following an Essam Mostafa triple. Peter made all four of his free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
- Taelon Peter's 33 points off the bench match his 33-point effort at Louisiana Tech on Jan. 11. Peter has the three 30-plus point games and has eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times this season. He had 19 of his 33 points in the second half.
- Peter's 33 points tie his own Liberty school record for most points off the bench in a single game in program history.
- Peter is averaging 16.2 points per game in 17 league games. The redshirt senior is shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from long distance in conference play.
- Liberty is 7-1 over its last eight games.
- The Flames turned in their best performance at the free throw line, shooting 90 percent (18-of-20) on the night. Peter was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line.
- Zach Cleveland's 16 points are his most in a game since finishing with 17 points at Jacksonville State on Feb. 1. The junior added five boards and six assists. Cleveland is averaging 6.2 apg over his last five games. He averaged 13.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 6.0 apg in a pair of regular season meetings with MTSU.
- Peter is the first Flame to have three 30-point games in a season Darius McGhee had five 30-plus point games during the 2022-23 season.
- Liberty has held nine of its last 11 opponents under 28 percent from three-point territory. The Flames are the national leader in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.6).
- The Flames sweep the regular season series against MTSU and improve to 3-1 all-time versus the Blue Raiders.
- Liberty can clinch at least a share of the regular season title on Saturday at Western Kentucky if the Flames defeat the Hilltoppers. A win over WKU would give the Flames the No. 1 seed for the CUSA Championship.
- The Flames are a combined 12-3 in road (8-2 record) and neutral site games (4-1) during the 2024-25 season.
- Liberty improves to 22-1 on the year when outshooting its opponent and 12-0 when shooting 50 percent or better.
Liberty will conclude its regular season with a road matchup at Western Kentucky (17-13, 8-9 CUSA), Saturday afternoon. Game time is 3 p.m. Eastern (2 p.m. Central) from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
WKU edged Liberty 71-70 in both teams' CUSA opener back on Jan. 2 at Liberty Arena. The Hilltoppers hold a 2-1 series edge.
Team Stats
Lib
MTSU
FG%
.545
.438
3FG%
.333
.250
FT%
.900
.692
RB
28
39
TO
11
12
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
33
FGM
11
3FGM
3
FTM
8
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballG
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/ Men's Basketball
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