Friday, January 2
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
10-3,2-0CUSA
81
vs
73
Kennesaw State
8-5,0-2CUSA
1
2
F
Kennesaw St.
33
40
73
Liberty
46
35
81
Liberty Fends Off Kennesaw State, 81-73
1/2/2026 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty fended off Kennesaw State in the second half for an 81-73 home win, Friday night in the Flames' CUSA home opener.
The Flames picked up their fourth straight win and remain unbeaten (7-0) at home. Liberty improves to 10-3 on the season and 2-0 in CUSA action. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State slips to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Liberty led by 13 at halftime before Kennesaw State got within one in the second half. The Flames held off the Owls, avenging last season's setback to KSU in what was Liberty's last home loss (March 2, 2025, 85-80 final).
Zach Cleveland led the Flames with a team-high 20 points, including a vicious dunk late in the second half to help seal the game. He added a team-best seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a pair of steals. Four other Liberty Flames were in double figures – Colin Porter (18 points), Brett Decker Jr. (13 points), JJ Harper (12 points) and Kaden Metheny (10 points).
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 20 points, 9-13 FG, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals; Colin Porter 18 points, 5-9 FG, 6-7 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Brett Decker Jr. 13 points, 3-6 3FG, 4-4 FT, 3 rebounds; JJ Harper 12 points, 4-7 FG, 3 blocks; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 4 assists; Josh Smith 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Kennesaw State Individuals: Simeon Cottles 22 points, 8-23 FG, 4 assists, 3 steals; Ramone Seals 11 points, 9 rebounds; Braedan Lue 11 points, 9 rebounds; Frankquon Sherman 8 points, 12 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) for the field, its ninth game shooting 50 percent or better. The Flames won for the second straight game despite giving up 20 or more offensive rebounds. Tonight, Kennesaw State won the overall battle on the glass, 49-33, and the Owls had 25 offensive boards compared to only four for Liberty. The Owls attempts 27 more field goals than the Flames and had 18 second chance points (eight for Liberty). . The Liberty defense limited KSU to 33.8 percent (27-of-80) from the field and 27.8 percent (10-of-36) from long distance. The Flames were an efficient 8-of-21 from deep (38.1 percent). Liberty had a strong night on the free throw line, shooting 79.2 percent (19-of-24). Kennesaw State was 9-of-13 (69.2 percent). Despite the rebounding disparity, both teams scored 32 points in the paint. Both squads notched 15 assists. Liberty led for 34:06, while KSU only led for 14 seconds. The game was tied for 5:40.
Turning Point
Liberty game out of the gates on fire, making its first seven shots to build up a 17-7 lead in the first 3:56 of the game. JJ Harper was a key contributor in the early going with seven of his 12 points during that span. The Flames' lead grew to 17, 38-21, with 6:48 on the first half clock. The Owls fought back and trailed 46-33 at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, Kennesaw State went on a 14-2 run to open the second half and trim the Liberty lead to a single point, 48-47, with 15:24 to play. Simeon Cottle (game-high 22 points) knocked down a pair of triples during the spurt, with his second one making it a one-point contest. KSU stayed close and trailed 53-52 with 11:58 remaining before a 7-0 Flames run pushed the lead back to eight, 60-52. A Zach Cleveland dunk, Brett Decker Jr. three and pair of free throws by Decker Jr. pushed the lead to eight.
Kennesaw State got as close as four down the stretch, trailing 72-68 following a fast break layup off a turnover from Darius Washington III at the 3:10 mark. The Flames' Cleveland made two key plays in crunch time, a hook shot with 2:30 remaining and his highlight-reel dunk with 1:14 to go to push the home lead to 76-69 with 1:14 on the clocks. Liberty went 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch to close out the triumph.
Key Stats & Notes
Up Next
The Flames will play their second home game of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (7-6, 2-0 CUSA) in CUSA action. The contest is set for a 2 p.m. start on ESPN+.
Liberty and Jax State met in the 2025 CUSA Championship title game, with the Flames prevailing 79-67 for their first CUSA crown.
The Flames picked up their fourth straight win and remain unbeaten (7-0) at home. Liberty improves to 10-3 on the season and 2-0 in CUSA action. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State slips to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Liberty led by 13 at halftime before Kennesaw State got within one in the second half. The Flames held off the Owls, avenging last season's setback to KSU in what was Liberty's last home loss (March 2, 2025, 85-80 final).
Zach Cleveland led the Flames with a team-high 20 points, including a vicious dunk late in the second half to help seal the game. He added a team-best seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a pair of steals. Four other Liberty Flames were in double figures – Colin Porter (18 points), Brett Decker Jr. (13 points), JJ Harper (12 points) and Kaden Metheny (10 points).
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 20 points, 9-13 FG, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals; Colin Porter 18 points, 5-9 FG, 6-7 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Brett Decker Jr. 13 points, 3-6 3FG, 4-4 FT, 3 rebounds; JJ Harper 12 points, 4-7 FG, 3 blocks; Kaden Metheny 10 points, 4 assists; Josh Smith 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Kennesaw State Individuals: Simeon Cottles 22 points, 8-23 FG, 4 assists, 3 steals; Ramone Seals 11 points, 9 rebounds; Braedan Lue 11 points, 9 rebounds; Frankquon Sherman 8 points, 12 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) for the field, its ninth game shooting 50 percent or better. The Flames won for the second straight game despite giving up 20 or more offensive rebounds. Tonight, Kennesaw State won the overall battle on the glass, 49-33, and the Owls had 25 offensive boards compared to only four for Liberty. The Owls attempts 27 more field goals than the Flames and had 18 second chance points (eight for Liberty). . The Liberty defense limited KSU to 33.8 percent (27-of-80) from the field and 27.8 percent (10-of-36) from long distance. The Flames were an efficient 8-of-21 from deep (38.1 percent). Liberty had a strong night on the free throw line, shooting 79.2 percent (19-of-24). Kennesaw State was 9-of-13 (69.2 percent). Despite the rebounding disparity, both teams scored 32 points in the paint. Both squads notched 15 assists. Liberty led for 34:06, while KSU only led for 14 seconds. The game was tied for 5:40.
Turning Point
Liberty game out of the gates on fire, making its first seven shots to build up a 17-7 lead in the first 3:56 of the game. JJ Harper was a key contributor in the early going with seven of his 12 points during that span. The Flames' lead grew to 17, 38-21, with 6:48 on the first half clock. The Owls fought back and trailed 46-33 at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, Kennesaw State went on a 14-2 run to open the second half and trim the Liberty lead to a single point, 48-47, with 15:24 to play. Simeon Cottle (game-high 22 points) knocked down a pair of triples during the spurt, with his second one making it a one-point contest. KSU stayed close and trailed 53-52 with 11:58 remaining before a 7-0 Flames run pushed the lead back to eight, 60-52. A Zach Cleveland dunk, Brett Decker Jr. three and pair of free throws by Decker Jr. pushed the lead to eight.
Kennesaw State got as close as four down the stretch, trailing 72-68 following a fast break layup off a turnover from Darius Washington III at the 3:10 mark. The Flames' Cleveland made two key plays in crunch time, a hook shot with 2:30 remaining and his highlight-reel dunk with 1:14 to go to push the home lead to 76-69 with 1:14 on the clocks. Liberty went 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch to close out the triumph.
What did we just witness from @Zachcleve33?!??????#SCTop10
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 3, 2026
?? @ESPNU pic.twitter.com/YQjc5gOGRi
Key Stats & Notes
- Zach Cleveland notched a season-high 20 points for his first 20-point game of the year and seventh of his career. Prior to tonight, his last 20-point effort came at Charleston on Nov. 17, 2024. Cleveland grabbed seven rebounds tonight and is now the 15th player in school history with 600 or more career boards (604).
- Liberty is a perfect 7-0 at home this season. The Flames have won back-to-back matchups with the Owls and improve to 12-3 all-time in the series.
- Liberty (2-0) is tied atop the CUSA standings with Jacksonville State (2-0), Middle Tennessee (2-0) and Missouri State (2-0). The Flames are 2-0 to start CUSA play for the first time.
- The Liberty defense held KSU (93.3 ppg) 20 points below its season average. The Owls shot a season-low 33.8 percent (27-of-80) from the field.
- The Flames are 9-0 this year when shooting 50 percent or better and 10-0 when outshooting their foes.
- Colin Porter has 983 points in his Liberty career after his 18-point performance tonight. The guard is 17 points away from becoming the 33rd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. With three assists tonight, he moved into seventh place all-time in program history with 448 career assists, surpassing Mark Chafin (446 assists).
- Brett Decker Jr. (13 points) knocked down three more three-pointers tonight and is up to 53 on the season. The sophomore is shooting 52.5 percent from long distance. Decker Jr. is the only Flame to score in double figures in all 13 games this season.
- Josh Smith and Zander Carter played key roles off the bench tonight. Smith tallied six points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks and was a +9 in 19:14 of action. Carter was a +13 in 11:02 of action, adding two points, three boards and two steals.
Zach rockin' the rim on @SportsCenter Top 10!#SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/wIm2O5bIE8
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) January 3, 2026
Up Next
The Flames will play their second home game of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (7-6, 2-0 CUSA) in CUSA action. The contest is set for a 2 p.m. start on ESPN+.
Liberty and Jax State met in the 2025 CUSA Championship title game, with the Flames prevailing 79-67 for their first CUSA crown.
Team Stats
KennSt
Lib
FG%
.338
.509
3FG%
.278
.381
FT%
.692
.792
RB
49
33
TO
13
12
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballCoach McKay Talks About The Win Over KSU
Saturday, January 03
Zach Cleveland & Colin Porter Talk About The Win Over KSU
Saturday, January 03
Coach McKay Talks About Preparing For KSU
Tuesday, December 30
Brett Decker Jr. & Josh Smith Talk About Preparing For KSU
Tuesday, December 30