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Wednesday, February 11
Las Cruces, N.M.
9:00 PM ET/7:00 PM MT
Liberty University
21-3,13-0CUSA
77
at
75
New Mexico State
11-13,4-10CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
30
47
77
New Mexico St.
32
43
75
Cleveland Hits Game Winner, Flames Win Program-Record 15th Straight
2/11/2026 11:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Liberty's Zach Cleveland hit the game-winning shot as time expired, lifting the Liberty Flames to their program-record-setting 15th straight victory, a 77-75 road CUSA triumph over New Mexico State at the Pan American Center on Wednesday evening.
With 1.4 seconds left in regulation, Colin Porter inbounded the ball to Cleveland, and the senior forward banked in the game winner at the horn to give the Flames the dramatic win.
Liberty bolsters its overall record to 21-3, including a perfect 13-0 CUSA mark. The Flames' 15 wins establish a new program record, breaking a tie with the 2019-20 team which won 14 straight games to open the 2019-20 season. Liberty is 7-0 in league road games following the buzzer-beating triumph.
NM State slips to 11-13 overall and 4-10 in Conference CUSA following their sixth loss in the last seven games. Both games between the Flames and Aggies were decided by exactly two points. NM State drops to 7-5 overall at home and 2-5 in CUSA games at the Pan American Center.
Wednesday night's tightly-contested game featured 18 lead changes and 17 ties.
Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: JJ Harper 19 points, 7-11 FG, 4 assists, 3 steals; Kaden Metheny 18 points, 7-14 FG; Zach Cleveland 15 points, 5-9 FG, 5-6 FT, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks; Colin Porter 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists; Brett Decker Jr. 8 points, 4 rebounds
New Mexico State Individuals: Jemel Jones 23 points, 10-19 FG, 3-5 3FG, 4 assists, 3 steals; Julius Mims 21 points, 10-13 FG, 13 rebounds; Chris Terrell 12 points, 6 assists
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 43.9 percent (29-of-66) from the field and 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from the three-point line while connecting on 88.9 percent (8-of-9) of its shots from the free throw line. The Aggies finished the night shooting 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the field, 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from three and 100 percent (7-of-7) from the foul line. This is only the fourth game all season an opponent has outshot the Flames. Liberty (1-3) wins its first game of the season when being outshot in a game. NM State held a 37-32 rebounding edge, including a 10-9 edge in offensive boards. Both teams had 14 assists and 15 second chance points. Liberty committed only seven turnovers, compared to 10 for NM State. NM State led in points off turnovers (11-7) points in the paint (40-30) and bench points (16-2). Liberty held the lead for 17:20, and the Aggies led for 11:09.
Turning Point
The Flames trailed 32-30 at the half before opening the second half on a 12-0 run, capped off by a Kaden Metheny three, to take a 42-32 lead with 17:03 left. Liberty held a 46-38 lead with 15:27 on the clock, but NM State went on a 10-2 run to even the game at 48-all at the 12:42 mark. Neither team led by four the rest of the way. The Aggies led 73-70 with 2:40 on the clock following a Jemel Jones (game-high 23 points) corner three, but JJ Harper knotted the game at 73-all with 2:17 to go with a crucial triple. Kaden Metheny put the visitors on top 75-73 with a blow-by layup with 1:28 remaining. Julius Mims of the Aggies scored on a second chance opportunity with 1:09 left.
After Liberty's Metheny missed on a three-pointer with 38 seconds left, NM State had an opportunity to take the lead, but Jones' pull up jumper with seven seconds to go bounced off the rim. With 1.4 seconds left, Liberty took a timeout and drew up a final play to win the game. Porter sent an inbounds pass to Cleveland on the left side, who rose up and banked a shot high off the glass as time expired for the win.
Key Stats & Notes
Liberty will close out the two-game road trip at UTEP (10-15, 6-8 CUSA), Saturday afternoon on ESPN2. Game time between the Flames and Miners is 2 p.m. Eastern (noon Mountain).
The Flames bested the Miners 80-69 in the first meeting between the two squads, Jan. 17 in Lynchburg.
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.
With 1.4 seconds left in regulation, Colin Porter inbounded the ball to Cleveland, and the senior forward banked in the game winner at the horn to give the Flames the dramatic win.
Liberty bolsters its overall record to 21-3, including a perfect 13-0 CUSA mark. The Flames' 15 wins establish a new program record, breaking a tie with the 2019-20 team which won 14 straight games to open the 2019-20 season. Liberty is 7-0 in league road games following the buzzer-beating triumph.
NM State slips to 11-13 overall and 4-10 in Conference CUSA following their sixth loss in the last seven games. Both games between the Flames and Aggies were decided by exactly two points. NM State drops to 7-5 overall at home and 2-5 in CUSA games at the Pan American Center.
Wednesday night's tightly-contested game featured 18 lead changes and 17 ties.
ZACH CLEVELAND GAME WINNER?? pic.twitter.com/0wmCZng9fH
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) February 12, 2026
Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: JJ Harper 19 points, 7-11 FG, 4 assists, 3 steals; Kaden Metheny 18 points, 7-14 FG; Zach Cleveland 15 points, 5-9 FG, 5-6 FT, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks; Colin Porter 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists; Brett Decker Jr. 8 points, 4 rebounds
New Mexico State Individuals: Jemel Jones 23 points, 10-19 FG, 3-5 3FG, 4 assists, 3 steals; Julius Mims 21 points, 10-13 FG, 13 rebounds; Chris Terrell 12 points, 6 assists
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 43.9 percent (29-of-66) from the field and 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from the three-point line while connecting on 88.9 percent (8-of-9) of its shots from the free throw line. The Aggies finished the night shooting 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the field, 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from three and 100 percent (7-of-7) from the foul line. This is only the fourth game all season an opponent has outshot the Flames. Liberty (1-3) wins its first game of the season when being outshot in a game. NM State held a 37-32 rebounding edge, including a 10-9 edge in offensive boards. Both teams had 14 assists and 15 second chance points. Liberty committed only seven turnovers, compared to 10 for NM State. NM State led in points off turnovers (11-7) points in the paint (40-30) and bench points (16-2). Liberty held the lead for 17:20, and the Aggies led for 11:09.
Turning Point
The Flames trailed 32-30 at the half before opening the second half on a 12-0 run, capped off by a Kaden Metheny three, to take a 42-32 lead with 17:03 left. Liberty held a 46-38 lead with 15:27 on the clock, but NM State went on a 10-2 run to even the game at 48-all at the 12:42 mark. Neither team led by four the rest of the way. The Aggies led 73-70 with 2:40 on the clock following a Jemel Jones (game-high 23 points) corner three, but JJ Harper knotted the game at 73-all with 2:17 to go with a crucial triple. Kaden Metheny put the visitors on top 75-73 with a blow-by layup with 1:28 remaining. Julius Mims of the Aggies scored on a second chance opportunity with 1:09 left.
After Liberty's Metheny missed on a three-pointer with 38 seconds left, NM State had an opportunity to take the lead, but Jones' pull up jumper with seven seconds to go bounced off the rim. With 1.4 seconds left, Liberty took a timeout and drew up a final play to win the game. Porter sent an inbounds pass to Cleveland on the left side, who rose up and banked a shot high off the glass as time expired for the win.
WHAT A FINISH FOR OUR 15TH STRAIGHT WIN!
— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) February 12, 2026
Final score presented by: https://t.co/Nyw1WvwMG3 pic.twitter.com/eX0ZmKIboK
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty has won 18 straight games (including postseason play) against CUSA teams and is 24-1 in its last 25 games against league opponents dating back to last season.
- After notching a triple-double last Saturday at Missouri State, Zach Cleveland notched his CUSA-leading eighth double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. The Bloomington, Ill. native added four assists and two blocks. The 14 boards were his most in league play this year and most since grabbing 16 at Dayton, Dec. 20.
- Cleveland moved into the top 10 in school history for career rebounds with 685 with his 14-rebound effort tonight. Cleveland now ranks ninth in program history in the category.
- Liberty's winning streak started on Dec. 16 and has gone on for 57 days now.
- The Flames are 13-0 in conference play for the first time in program history.
- Liberty has defeated NM State in five straight matchups, improving to 5-1 overall against the Aggies. The Flames are 2-1 all-time at the Pan American Center.
- JJ Harper's 19-point effort was his second-highest scoring output of the season.
- Cleveland is the first Flame to hit a last-second game-winning field goal at the buzzer since Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz hit a three at the buzzer in overtime at Georgia State on Dec. 4, 2017.
- The Flames are the first team to go 13-0 or better to start CUSA competition since the 2012-13 Memphis team (16-0).
Liberty will close out the two-game road trip at UTEP (10-15, 6-8 CUSA), Saturday afternoon on ESPN2. Game time between the Flames and Miners is 2 p.m. Eastern (noon Mountain).
The Flames bested the Miners 80-69 in the first meeting between the two squads, Jan. 17 in Lynchburg.
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
Lib
NMSU
FG%
.439
.476
3FG%
.344
.296
FT%
.889
1.000
RB
32
37
TO
7
10
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
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