
Jayvon Maughmer paced the Flames with a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds.
Liberty Knocks Off WKU 90-61 to Claim Outright CUSA Regular-Season Title & No. 1 Seed
3/8/2025 6:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Liberty knocked off Western Kentucky 90-61 on the road, Saturday afternoon, to claim the outright conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed for next week's CUSA Championship.
The Flames finish the regular season with a 25-6 record and 13-5 Conference USA mark. Liberty wins the regular season crown outright after Jacksonville State fell 74-70 to Kennesaw State on Saturday at home. WKU slips to 17-14 overall and 8-10 in CUSA action. The Hilltoppers fall to 13-5 at home, including a 5-4 CUSA home mark.
Liberty wins its sixth regular-season (or division) title in the last seven years and its ninth total title in the last seven seasons (also three ASUN Championship titles).
Jayvon Maughmer paced the Flames with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds to go along with six assists and two blocks. Maughmer's point, rebound and assist totals were all season highs. Taelon Peter added 21 points and nine boards, and Brett Decker Jr. had his best game in CUSA play with 16 points. Zach Cleveland filled the stat sheet as well with 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Jayvon Maughmer 19 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 8-11 FG, 5-5 3FG; Taelon Peter 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 7-12 FG, 4-8 3FG; Brett Decker Jr. 16 points, 5-8 FG, 3-5 3FG; Zach Cleveland 14 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks
Western Kentucky Individuals: Khristian Lander 18 points, 2 steals; Don McHenry 14 points, 5-16 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the afternoon shooting 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from the field and buried 16 threes on 34 attempts (47.1 percent). The Flames' 16 triples are their most in CUSA play and tied for second most of the season. Liberty held WKU to 33.8 percent (23-of-68) from the field and 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from long distance. The Flames outrebounded the Hilltoppers 45-38. Liberty's 45 boards are their most in any CUSA game this season. Liberty collected 28 of those 45 rebounds in the first half. The Flames assisted on 22 of their 32 made field goals, compared to only 10 assists on 23 makes for the Hilltoppers. Liberty led in points in the paint (32-28) and bench points (44-31).
Turning Point
Liberty went on a 20-3 run in the first half to help build a big lead. Liberty's big run turned a 21-10 lead into a 41-13 advantage with 3:41 remaining. The Flames were on top 49-22 at the half, their biggest halftime lead in a CUSA game this year. The Liberty defense limited the Hilltoppers to 22.9 percent shooting (8-of-25) in the opening half.
WKU made its first three shots in the second half but could get no closer than 20 the rest of the way. Liberty led by as many as 36, 80-44, with 5:19 left.
Key Stats & Notes
For the second year in a row, the CUSA Men's Basketball Championship will take place at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.
No. 1 seed Liberty will open tournament play with a quarterfinal contest Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+. The Flames' opponent will be the winner of Tuesday's first-round clash between No. 8 seed UTEP and No. 9 seed Sam Houston.
Single-session tickets are now available at LibertyFlames.com/CUSABasketball.
The Flames finish the regular season with a 25-6 record and 13-5 Conference USA mark. Liberty wins the regular season crown outright after Jacksonville State fell 74-70 to Kennesaw State on Saturday at home. WKU slips to 17-14 overall and 8-10 in CUSA action. The Hilltoppers fall to 13-5 at home, including a 5-4 CUSA home mark.
Liberty wins its sixth regular-season (or division) title in the last seven years and its ninth total title in the last seven seasons (also three ASUN Championship titles).
Jayvon Maughmer paced the Flames with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds to go along with six assists and two blocks. Maughmer's point, rebound and assist totals were all season highs. Taelon Peter added 21 points and nine boards, and Brett Decker Jr. had his best game in CUSA play with 16 points. Zach Cleveland filled the stat sheet as well with 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Jayvon Maughmer 19 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 8-11 FG, 5-5 3FG; Taelon Peter 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 7-12 FG, 4-8 3FG; Brett Decker Jr. 16 points, 5-8 FG, 3-5 3FG; Zach Cleveland 14 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks
Western Kentucky Individuals: Khristian Lander 18 points, 2 steals; Don McHenry 14 points, 5-16 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the afternoon shooting 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from the field and buried 16 threes on 34 attempts (47.1 percent). The Flames' 16 triples are their most in CUSA play and tied for second most of the season. Liberty held WKU to 33.8 percent (23-of-68) from the field and 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from long distance. The Flames outrebounded the Hilltoppers 45-38. Liberty's 45 boards are their most in any CUSA game this season. Liberty collected 28 of those 45 rebounds in the first half. The Flames assisted on 22 of their 32 made field goals, compared to only 10 assists on 23 makes for the Hilltoppers. Liberty led in points in the paint (32-28) and bench points (44-31).
Turning Point
Liberty went on a 20-3 run in the first half to help build a big lead. Liberty's big run turned a 21-10 lead into a 41-13 advantage with 3:41 remaining. The Flames were on top 49-22 at the half, their biggest halftime lead in a CUSA game this year. The Liberty defense limited the Hilltoppers to 22.9 percent shooting (8-of-25) in the opening half.
WKU made its first three shots in the second half but could get no closer than 20 the rest of the way. Liberty led by as many as 36, 80-44, with 5:19 left.
Key Stats & Notes
- The Flames claim their first Conference USA regular season title in their second year in the league.
- Liberty's 90 points are its most ever in a CUSA game. The Flames are averaging 85.3 ppg over their last three games.
- This is Liberty's fourth 25-win season in the last seven years.
- Javyon Maughmer's double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds was his first in a Liberty uniform and third of his collegiate career.
- Maughmer is the first Flame to grab 15 rebounds in a game since Scottie James grabbed 16 rebounds against Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 10, 2019. He is also the first Flame to go 4-of-4 or better from three-point territory (he was 5-of-5) since Elijah Cuffee connected on 4-of-4 attempts against Trinity Baptist on Dec. 2, 2019.
- The Flames improve to 13-0 when shooting 50 percent or better this season.
- Liberty closes out the regular season by winning 10 of its last 12 league games after starting 2-3 in CUSA play.
- Taelon Peter averaged 27.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg while shooting 69.2 percent from the floor this weekend in a pair of victories.
- The Flames improve to 2-2 all-time against the Hilltoppers. Liberty splits the regular season series with WKU for a second straight year.
- Brett Decker Jr. had quite the homecoming in his home state of Kentucky. The Cecilia, Ky. native's 16 points are 10 more than his previous most (six at FIU) in a CUSA game.
- Freshman Will Gibson scored his first career collegiate basket tonight, coming in the second half.
- All 14 Flames who dressed today saw playing time. Kai Yu scored two points, his first points since Dec. 17.
For the second year in a row, the CUSA Men's Basketball Championship will take place at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.
No. 1 seed Liberty will open tournament play with a quarterfinal contest Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+. The Flames' opponent will be the winner of Tuesday's first-round clash between No. 8 seed UTEP and No. 9 seed Sam Houston.
Single-session tickets are now available at LibertyFlames.com/CUSABasketball.
Team Stats
Lib
WestKy
FG%
.525
.338
3FG%
.471
.286
FT%
.625
.500
RB
45
38
TO
8
6
STL
2
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
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