Saturday, February 28
Jacksonville, Ala.
6:00 PM ET/5:00 PM CT
Liberty University
24-5,16-2CUSA
81
at
78
Jacksonville State
14-15,9-9CUSA
1
2
F
Liberty
27
54
81
Jacksonville St.
34
44
78
Liberty Claims 81-78 Road Win at Jax State to Earn CUSA Outright Regular Season Title
2/28/2026 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Liberty claimed a tough 81-78 road win at Jacksonville State on Saturday evening to earn the CUSA outright regular season title for a second consecutive year.
The Flames overcame a seven-point halftime deficit and scored 54 points in the final 20 minutes on 76 percent shooting to pick up the victory. Liberty improves to 24-5 on the year and 16-2 in CUSA action. Jax State slips to 14-15 on the year and 9-9 in league play following the setback on its Senior Night.
Liberty snaps a two-game losing streak and improves to 9-1 in CUSA road matchups. The Flames hold a three-game lead in the league standings over second place Sam Houston (21-8, 13-5 CUSA) with two regular season games remaining.
With the outright title, Liberty has locked up the No. 1 seed for the 2026 CUSA Men's Basketball Championship, March 10-14 at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala. The Flames' first game in the tournament will be in the quarterfinal round on March 11 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
Kaden Metheny (game-high 24 points) and Brett Decker Jr. (16 points) combined for 40 points in the win, and seniors Zach Cleveland and Colin Porter added 12 points apiece. The Gamecocks were led by Mostapha El Moutaouakkil, who finished with 21 points but was only 6-of-17 from the field.
Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 24 points, 8-13 FG, 6-11 3FG, 4 assists; Brett Decker Jr. 16 points, 4-8 3FG; Zach Cleveland 12 points, 5-9 FG, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks; Colin Porter 12 points, 7-7 FT, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Jacksonville State Individuals: Mostapha El Moutaouakkil 21 points, 6-17 FG, 6 rebounds; Jacoby Hill 16 points, 6-7 FG; Jamar Franklin 11 points, 3-6 3FG; Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. 10 points, 4 assists; Emondrek Erkins-Ford 10 points, 5-8 FG
Key Team Stats: After scoring only 27 points in the first half on 36 percent shooting (9-of-25), Liberty turned it around in the second half with a 19-of-25 shooting performance (76 percent) over the final 20 minutes. Liberty finished the game at 56 percent (28-of-50) from the field and 44 percent (11-of-25) from long distance while shooting 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the foul line. Jax State shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) on the night. The Flames led in assists (15-13) and fast break points (15-7). The Gamecocks held edges in rebounding (30-25), points in the paint (38-34), points off turnovers (11-8), second chance points (12-0) and bench points (16-12). Liberty committed eight turnovers on the night, and the Gamecocks had seven. Liberty only led for 5:23 in the victory. JSU led for 32:28. The game featured seven lead changes.
Turning Point
Liberty took its first lead since the 11:16 mark of the first half on a Zander Carter layup at the 7:08 mark of the second half for a 60-59 lead. With the host Gamecocks holding a 65-63 lead with 5:03 on the clock, the Flames used a 10-0 run to push ahead. The run started with a pair of layups from Zach Cleveland and Kaden Metheny and was capped off by back-to-back threes from Brett Decker Jr. and Metheny. Decker Jr's three made it 70-65 with 3:21 left. Metheny's corner triple at the 2:34 mark pushed the advantage to eight, 73-65.
In the final minute of regulation, Colin Porter was 4-of-4 from the foul line, and Zander Carter scored a layup on following a press break. Porter's final two free throws bumped the lead to 81-73 with nine seconds remaining before the Gamecocks scored the final five points of regulation but ran out of time.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames will return home for their final two regular season games. First up for Liberty is a showdown against Louisiana Tech (16-13, 9-9 CUSA) on Thursday evening. Tip time between the Flames and Bulldogs is 7 p.m. from Liberty Arena.
Liberty claimed a 72-56 road victory over LA Tech, Jan. 8 at the Thomas Assembly Center in the first meeting between the two squads.
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.
The Flames overcame a seven-point halftime deficit and scored 54 points in the final 20 minutes on 76 percent shooting to pick up the victory. Liberty improves to 24-5 on the year and 16-2 in CUSA action. Jax State slips to 14-15 on the year and 9-9 in league play following the setback on its Senior Night.
Liberty snaps a two-game losing streak and improves to 9-1 in CUSA road matchups. The Flames hold a three-game lead in the league standings over second place Sam Houston (21-8, 13-5 CUSA) with two regular season games remaining.
With the outright title, Liberty has locked up the No. 1 seed for the 2026 CUSA Men's Basketball Championship, March 10-14 at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala. The Flames' first game in the tournament will be in the quarterfinal round on March 11 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
Kaden Metheny (game-high 24 points) and Brett Decker Jr. (16 points) combined for 40 points in the win, and seniors Zach Cleveland and Colin Porter added 12 points apiece. The Gamecocks were led by Mostapha El Moutaouakkil, who finished with 21 points but was only 6-of-17 from the field.
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— Liberty Men's Basketball (@LibertyMBB) March 1, 2026
Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kaden Metheny 24 points, 8-13 FG, 6-11 3FG, 4 assists; Brett Decker Jr. 16 points, 4-8 3FG; Zach Cleveland 12 points, 5-9 FG, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks; Colin Porter 12 points, 7-7 FT, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Jacksonville State Individuals: Mostapha El Moutaouakkil 21 points, 6-17 FG, 6 rebounds; Jacoby Hill 16 points, 6-7 FG; Jamar Franklin 11 points, 3-6 3FG; Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. 10 points, 4 assists; Emondrek Erkins-Ford 10 points, 5-8 FG
Key Team Stats: After scoring only 27 points in the first half on 36 percent shooting (9-of-25), Liberty turned it around in the second half with a 19-of-25 shooting performance (76 percent) over the final 20 minutes. Liberty finished the game at 56 percent (28-of-50) from the field and 44 percent (11-of-25) from long distance while shooting 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the foul line. Jax State shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) on the night. The Flames led in assists (15-13) and fast break points (15-7). The Gamecocks held edges in rebounding (30-25), points in the paint (38-34), points off turnovers (11-8), second chance points (12-0) and bench points (16-12). Liberty committed eight turnovers on the night, and the Gamecocks had seven. Liberty only led for 5:23 in the victory. JSU led for 32:28. The game featured seven lead changes.
Turning Point
Liberty took its first lead since the 11:16 mark of the first half on a Zander Carter layup at the 7:08 mark of the second half for a 60-59 lead. With the host Gamecocks holding a 65-63 lead with 5:03 on the clock, the Flames used a 10-0 run to push ahead. The run started with a pair of layups from Zach Cleveland and Kaden Metheny and was capped off by back-to-back threes from Brett Decker Jr. and Metheny. Decker Jr's three made it 70-65 with 3:21 left. Metheny's corner triple at the 2:34 mark pushed the advantage to eight, 73-65.
In the final minute of regulation, Colin Porter was 4-of-4 from the foul line, and Zander Carter scored a layup on following a press break. Porter's final two free throws bumped the lead to 81-73 with nine seconds remaining before the Gamecocks scored the final five points of regulation but ran out of time.
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty earns the outright CUSA regular season crown for a second straight year. Last year, the Flames finished 13-5 to claim the title. This year, Liberty is 16-2 with two games remaining. The Flames are 29-7 in league regular season games over the last two seasons.
- The Flames complete the regular season sweep of the Gamecocks. Liberty knocked off Jax State 78-69 on Jan. 4 in Lynchburg.
- Kaden Metheny scored 46 points (23.0 ppg) in two meetings with Jax State and hit 11 three-pointers.
- Brett Decker Jr. continued his sterling shooting this season with a 4-of-8 performance from deep. The sophomore guard has a team-high 97 three-pointers and is just three away from the century mark. Decker Jr. is shooting exactly 49 percent from deep on the year.
- This is the first time Liberty has ever eclipsed the 80-point mark against Jax State. The Flames' previous high against the Gamecocks was 79 on two occasions.
- Liberty improves to 6-4 all-time against Jax State, including four straight victories in the series. The Flames pick up their first win at Pete Mathews Coliseum since Feb. 18, 2023. Liberty is an even 2-2 at the facility.
- Over the last eight years, the Flames have claimed 11 total titles (seven regular season and/or division, four conference tournament), tied for the most nationally.
The Flames will return home for their final two regular season games. First up for Liberty is a showdown against Louisiana Tech (16-13, 9-9 CUSA) on Thursday evening. Tip time between the Flames and Bulldogs is 7 p.m. from Liberty Arena.
Liberty claimed a 72-56 road victory over LA Tech, Jan. 8 at the Thomas Assembly Center in the first meeting between the two squads.
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.
Team Stats
Lib
JSU
FG%
.560
.509
3FG%
.440
.444
FT%
.778
.700
RB
25
30
TO
8
7
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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