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Thursday, January 15
Lynchburg, Va.
6:00 PM ET
Liberty University
14-3,6-0CUSA
73
vs
71
New Mexico State
9-7,2-4CUSA
1
2
F
New Mexico St.
29
42
71
Liberty
46
27
73
Cleveland reached the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career.
Liberty Staves Off NM State 73-71 For 8th Straight Win
1/15/2026 9:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty Flames staved off visiting New Mexico State for a 73-71 victory, their eighth straight win overall.
Liberty moves to 14-3 overall on the year and stays atop the CUSA standings with a perfect 6-0 mark. The Flames are 9-0 at home on the season. NM State slips to 9-7 overall and 2-4 in league play. The Aggies fall to 0-4 on the road and 0-3 in CUSA road matchups.
Liberty led by 17, 46-29, at halftime before NM State mounted a furious second half comeback and had a look to win the game in the closing seconds. The Aggies' Jemel Jones' three-point attempt bounced off the front of the rim with 2.8 seconds remaining, and Liberty secured the defensive rebound to help preserve the victory.
Liberty senior forward Zach Cleveland (11 points, six rebounds, seven assists) became the 34th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his Flames career. Last Thursday at LA Tech, Colin Porter achieved the milestone. On Dec. 16, Kaden Metheny reached 1,000 points in his time at Liberty. Liberty is one of only two schools in the nation to have three active players with 1,000-plus career points or more scored at their current institutions. The only other school is Purdue (Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn).
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: JJ Harper 17 points, 6-7 FG, 3-3 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 steals; Brett Decker Jr. 17 points, 7-12 FG; Josh Smith 14 points, 5-8 FG, 3 rebounds, Zach Cleveland 11 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists
New Mexico State Individuals: Anthony Wrzeszcz 16 points, 6-10 FG, 4-8 3FG; Jemel Jones 15 points, 6 rebounds; Elijah Elliot 12 points, 5-9 FG; Jae'Coby Osborne 10 points, 5-7 FG, 12 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.2 percent (26-of-48) for the game, including a 62.1 percent mark (18-of-29) in the first half. New Mexico State finished the night shooting 47.5 percent (29-of-61). The Flames improve to 11-0 when shooting 50 percent or better and 14-0 when outshooting their opponents. Liberty attempted a season-low 15 three-pointers but was efficient with seven makes (46.7 percent). The Aggies, who entered the day 225th nationally in made threes per game (7.5), knocked down 11 triples on 25 attempts (44 percent). Liberty was 14-of-18 from the foul line (77.8 percent), while NM State was only 1-of-2 (50 percent) from the charity stripe. NM State held a 32-27 edge in rebounding and grabbed 11 offensive boards compared to only five for Liberty. The Flames led in assists 16-13, with 11 of those assists coming in the first half. Liberty also had advantages in points in the paint (38-30), points off turnovers (13-9), fast break points (9-4) and bench points (14-10, all 14 by Josh Smith). NM State led in second chance points, 14-4. The Flames only committed six turnovers, tied for its second fewest total of the season. The Aggies also limited their turnover total, committing only seven. Liberty led for a good majority of tonight's game, holding the advantage for 35:30 of the 40 minutes. NM State held a lead for 2:46.
Turning Point
Liberty built a 17-point lead at the half, 46-29, behind efficient shooting. The Flames were 62.1 percent (18-of-29), 5-of-9 from deep (55.6 percent) and 100 percent from the foul line (5-of-5) while committing only one turnover and notching 11 assists.
New Mexico State opened the second half on a 16-4 run to trim the Liberty lead to just five, 50-45, with 14:48 to play. The Aggies continued to inch their way back into the game before eventually tying the score at 60-60 with 7:46 left on an Anthony Wrzeszcz driving layup. Liberty responded with a 6-0 run, featuring a Zach Cleveland dunk, pair of JJ Harper foul shots and Brett Decker Jr. floater, to regain the lead 66-60 with 5:26 on the clock.
NM State remained within striking distance with a strong presence on the offensive glass (eight offensive boards in the second half) and trailed 67-65 before a crucial Harper three-pointer put the Flames up five, 70-65, with 2:26 remaining. The Aggies drew within one on two different occasions, including at 72-71 on a layup from Jae'Coby Osborne with 38 seconds left. On the ensuing Flames possession, the NM State defense forced a shot clock violation, setting up a chance for the visitors to win the game. After an inbounds pass, Aggies guard Jemel Jones pulled up for the game winner, but his attempt hit the front of the rim and bounced to Flames forward Josh Smith for the rebound. Smith was fouled and sank the first free throw. He missed the second free throw, but NM State had no timeouts and no chance to attempt a heave to win the game.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will face UTEP (6-11, 2-4 CUSA) in another CUSA matchup, Saturday afternoon at Liberty Arena. Game time is 3 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
The Flames and Miners will be meeting for the seventh time, with the series even 3-3. Liberty won two of the three games between the squads last year, including an 81-60 triumph over UTEP in the 2025 CUSA Championship quarterfinals.
CUSA Championship Ticket Information
Ticket packages for the 2026 CUSA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are now on sale. Both the Flames and Lady Flames will look to defend their conference tournament titles at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala., March 10-14.
Fans can purchase an all-session booklet through the Liberty Ticket Office for $175, a savings of $25. This includes tickets to all nine men's games and all nine women's games throughout the tournament. To purchase tickets and find more information, please visit http://www.libertyflames.com/CUSABasketball.
Students will be able to purchase tickets for the tournaments on a session-to-session basis. These may be purchased at Propst Arena with a valid student ID (of a CUSA school) for half the price of the current day's session.
Liberty moves to 14-3 overall on the year and stays atop the CUSA standings with a perfect 6-0 mark. The Flames are 9-0 at home on the season. NM State slips to 9-7 overall and 2-4 in league play. The Aggies fall to 0-4 on the road and 0-3 in CUSA road matchups.
Liberty led by 17, 46-29, at halftime before NM State mounted a furious second half comeback and had a look to win the game in the closing seconds. The Aggies' Jemel Jones' three-point attempt bounced off the front of the rim with 2.8 seconds remaining, and Liberty secured the defensive rebound to help preserve the victory.
Liberty senior forward Zach Cleveland (11 points, six rebounds, seven assists) became the 34th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his Flames career. Last Thursday at LA Tech, Colin Porter achieved the milestone. On Dec. 16, Kaden Metheny reached 1,000 points in his time at Liberty. Liberty is one of only two schools in the nation to have three active players with 1,000-plus career points or more scored at their current institutions. The only other school is Purdue (Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn).
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: JJ Harper 17 points, 6-7 FG, 3-3 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 steals; Brett Decker Jr. 17 points, 7-12 FG; Josh Smith 14 points, 5-8 FG, 3 rebounds, Zach Cleveland 11 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists
New Mexico State Individuals: Anthony Wrzeszcz 16 points, 6-10 FG, 4-8 3FG; Jemel Jones 15 points, 6 rebounds; Elijah Elliot 12 points, 5-9 FG; Jae'Coby Osborne 10 points, 5-7 FG, 12 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 54.2 percent (26-of-48) for the game, including a 62.1 percent mark (18-of-29) in the first half. New Mexico State finished the night shooting 47.5 percent (29-of-61). The Flames improve to 11-0 when shooting 50 percent or better and 14-0 when outshooting their opponents. Liberty attempted a season-low 15 three-pointers but was efficient with seven makes (46.7 percent). The Aggies, who entered the day 225th nationally in made threes per game (7.5), knocked down 11 triples on 25 attempts (44 percent). Liberty was 14-of-18 from the foul line (77.8 percent), while NM State was only 1-of-2 (50 percent) from the charity stripe. NM State held a 32-27 edge in rebounding and grabbed 11 offensive boards compared to only five for Liberty. The Flames led in assists 16-13, with 11 of those assists coming in the first half. Liberty also had advantages in points in the paint (38-30), points off turnovers (13-9), fast break points (9-4) and bench points (14-10, all 14 by Josh Smith). NM State led in second chance points, 14-4. The Flames only committed six turnovers, tied for its second fewest total of the season. The Aggies also limited their turnover total, committing only seven. Liberty led for a good majority of tonight's game, holding the advantage for 35:30 of the 40 minutes. NM State held a lead for 2:46.
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— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 16, 2026
Congrats to Zach Cleveland, who has now scored over 1,000 points in his collegiate career! pic.twitter.com/LHIZFSQ5Yf
Turning Point
Liberty built a 17-point lead at the half, 46-29, behind efficient shooting. The Flames were 62.1 percent (18-of-29), 5-of-9 from deep (55.6 percent) and 100 percent from the foul line (5-of-5) while committing only one turnover and notching 11 assists.
New Mexico State opened the second half on a 16-4 run to trim the Liberty lead to just five, 50-45, with 14:48 to play. The Aggies continued to inch their way back into the game before eventually tying the score at 60-60 with 7:46 left on an Anthony Wrzeszcz driving layup. Liberty responded with a 6-0 run, featuring a Zach Cleveland dunk, pair of JJ Harper foul shots and Brett Decker Jr. floater, to regain the lead 66-60 with 5:26 on the clock.
NM State remained within striking distance with a strong presence on the offensive glass (eight offensive boards in the second half) and trailed 67-65 before a crucial Harper three-pointer put the Flames up five, 70-65, with 2:26 remaining. The Aggies drew within one on two different occasions, including at 72-71 on a layup from Jae'Coby Osborne with 38 seconds left. On the ensuing Flames possession, the NM State defense forced a shot clock violation, setting up a chance for the visitors to win the game. After an inbounds pass, Aggies guard Jemel Jones pulled up for the game winner, but his attempt hit the front of the rim and bounced to Flames forward Josh Smith for the rebound. Smith was fouled and sank the first free throw. He missed the second free throw, but NM State had no timeouts and no chance to attempt a heave to win the game.
Key Stats & Notes
- Zach Cleveland eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career with a pair of free throws at the 17:11 mark of the second half. Cleveland was 5-of-6 from the foul line tonight. The senior has scored in double figures in seven straight games and is now at 1,006 points in his four-year Liberty career.
- JJ Harper (17 points) notched his third straight game in double figures scoring, Harper, who had a Liberty career-high 20 points at Sam Houston last Saturday, is averaging 16.7 ppg over his last three.
- Brett Decker Jr. shared team high honors with 17 points tonight. He is the only Flame in double figures in all 17 games this year.
- Josh Smith continued his strong play in league games with 14 points tonight on 5-of-8 shooting. The forward is averaging 10.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg since league play started.
- Liberty is the first team to 6-0 in Conference USA play since the 2022-23 Florida Atlantic team started 11-0 in the league.
- Liberty has won three straight games that were decided by three points or less.
- The Flames are 28-of-33 from the free throw line (84.8 percent) in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime in their first six league games. The Flames were 3-of-4 from the foul line in the final two minutes tonight.
- After a hot start from the field in the second half and 14 second half points from Anthony Wrzeszcz of NM State, Liberty held the Aggies to 5-of-16 from the field over the final 8:57.
- Liberty has won each of the last four meetings with New Mexico State and is 4-1 all-time against the Aggies, including a 3-0 record at Liberty Arena.
- The Flames' current eight-game winning streak is their longest since claim nine straight victories from Nov. 17-Dec. 21, 2024. Liberty's winning streak started on Dec. 16.
Liberty will face UTEP (6-11, 2-4 CUSA) in another CUSA matchup, Saturday afternoon at Liberty Arena. Game time is 3 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
The Flames and Miners will be meeting for the seventh time, with the series even 3-3. Liberty won two of the three games between the squads last year, including an 81-60 triumph over UTEP in the 2025 CUSA Championship quarterfinals.
CUSA Championship Ticket Information
Ticket packages for the 2026 CUSA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are now on sale. Both the Flames and Lady Flames will look to defend their conference tournament titles at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala., March 10-14.
Fans can purchase an all-session booklet through the Liberty Ticket Office for $175, a savings of $25. This includes tickets to all nine men's games and all nine women's games throughout the tournament. To purchase tickets and find more information, please visit http://www.libertyflames.com/CUSABasketball.
Students will be able to purchase tickets for the tournaments on a session-to-session basis. These may be purchased at Propst Arena with a valid student ID (of a CUSA school) for half the price of the current day's session.
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Team Stats
NMSU
Lib
FG%
.475
.542
3FG%
.440
.467
FT%
.500
.778
RB
32
27
TO
7
6
STL
3
3
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballCoach McKay Talks About The Win Over NMSU
Friday, January 16
Zach Cleveland & JJ Harper Talk About The Win Over NMSU
Friday, January 16
My Moment: Kaden Metheny
Wednesday, January 14
Coach McKay Talks About Preparing For NMSU
Wednesday, January 14