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Wednesday, March 12
Huntsville, Ala.
6:30 PM ET/5:30 PM CT
Liberty University
26-6,13-5CUSA
81
vs
60
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UTEP
18-15,7-11CUSA
1
2
F
UTEP
26
34
60
Liberty
36
45
81
Hot 2nd Half Shooting Lifts No. 1 Seed Flames Past No. 8 Seed Miners 81-60 in CUSA Quarters
3/12/2025 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – No. 1 seed Liberty knocked down 12 shots in a row in the second half to distance itself from No. 8 seed UTEP for an 81-60 triumph, Wednesday evening in the quarterfinals of the 2025 CUSA Men's Basketball Championship.
The Flames (26-6) continue their quest for a CUSA title and will advance to Friday's semifinal round at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. Liberty will await the winner of No. 4 seed Kennesaw State (18-13, 10-8 CUSA) and No. 5 seed New Mexico State (17-14, 10-8 CUSA). The Owls and Aggies will square off in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
UTEP falls to 18-15 on the season. The Miners finish the CUSA Tournament with a 1-1 record after knocking off Sam Houston 79-65 in Tuesday's first round.
Four Flames scored in double figures, led by Zach Cleveland with 19 points and a game-high six assists. Kaden Metheny added 16 points, while Taelon Peter (14 points) and Jayvon Maughmer (12 points) joined Metheny in double figures. Liberty assisted on 25 of its 32 made field goals on the night and shot 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 19 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks; Kaden Metheny 16 points, 5-10, 4-8 3FG, 3 assists; Taelon Peter 14 points, 5-5 FG, 4-4 3FG, 5 rebounds, 3 steals; Jayvon Maughmer 12 points, 5-7 FG, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Colin Porter 7 points, 5 assists, 3 steals
UTEP Individuals: Devon Barnes 18 points, 5-9 3FG, 3 steals; Corey Camper Jr. 13 points, 4-4 FT, Otis Frazier III 9 points, 5 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field, including a blistering 69.2 percent (18-of-26) in the second half. The Flames shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from three-point territory. Liberty assisted on 78.1 percent of its field goals (25-of-32). The Liberty defense held the Miners to 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the floor and 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from three-point territory. UTEP only managed seven assists on its 21 made field goals. Liberty held advantages in points in the paint (38-24), bench points (21-11) and points off turnovers (16-8). UTEP had the edge in rebounding (31-30), second chance points (16-12) and fast break points (9-5). Liberty led for 32:05, and UTEP led for 4:30. The Flames led by as many as 28 in the game.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed UTEP 18-16 in the early going before closing on a 20-8 run to take a 36-26 lead into the break.
After missing their opening shot in the second half, the Flames connected on 12 straight field goals from the 19:30 mark to the 9:19 mark. Liberty's lead grew from 10 (36-36) to 23, 66-43, with the hot shooting. The Flames hit 16-of-18 shots during that span as well to pull ahead 76-48 with 4:38 to go. During that stretch 12 makes in a row, Taelon Peter accounted for eight points, followed by Zach Cleveland with six and Kaden Metheny with six. All 12 of the made field goals featured an assist.
Key Stats & Notes
The top-seeded Flames will await their semifinal round opponent. Liberty will meet the winner of No. 4 seed Kennesaw State (18-13, 10-8 CUSA) and No. 5 seed New Mexico State (17-14, 10-8 CUSA), who will square off on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The Flames will meet the winner of that game on Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. Eastern at Propst Arena.
The Flames (26-6) continue their quest for a CUSA title and will advance to Friday's semifinal round at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. Liberty will await the winner of No. 4 seed Kennesaw State (18-13, 10-8 CUSA) and No. 5 seed New Mexico State (17-14, 10-8 CUSA). The Owls and Aggies will square off in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
UTEP falls to 18-15 on the season. The Miners finish the CUSA Tournament with a 1-1 record after knocking off Sam Houston 79-65 in Tuesday's first round.
Four Flames scored in double figures, led by Zach Cleveland with 19 points and a game-high six assists. Kaden Metheny added 16 points, while Taelon Peter (14 points) and Jayvon Maughmer (12 points) joined Metheny in double figures. Liberty assisted on 25 of its 32 made field goals on the night and shot 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zach Cleveland 19 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks; Kaden Metheny 16 points, 5-10, 4-8 3FG, 3 assists; Taelon Peter 14 points, 5-5 FG, 4-4 3FG, 5 rebounds, 3 steals; Jayvon Maughmer 12 points, 5-7 FG, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Colin Porter 7 points, 5 assists, 3 steals
UTEP Individuals: Devon Barnes 18 points, 5-9 3FG, 3 steals; Corey Camper Jr. 13 points, 4-4 FT, Otis Frazier III 9 points, 5 rebounds
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field, including a blistering 69.2 percent (18-of-26) in the second half. The Flames shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from three-point territory. Liberty assisted on 78.1 percent of its field goals (25-of-32). The Liberty defense held the Miners to 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the floor and 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from three-point territory. UTEP only managed seven assists on its 21 made field goals. Liberty held advantages in points in the paint (38-24), bench points (21-11) and points off turnovers (16-8). UTEP had the edge in rebounding (31-30), second chance points (16-12) and fast break points (9-5). Liberty led for 32:05, and UTEP led for 4:30. The Flames led by as many as 28 in the game.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed UTEP 18-16 in the early going before closing on a 20-8 run to take a 36-26 lead into the break.
After missing their opening shot in the second half, the Flames connected on 12 straight field goals from the 19:30 mark to the 9:19 mark. Liberty's lead grew from 10 (36-36) to 23, 66-43, with the hot shooting. The Flames hit 16-of-18 shots during that span as well to pull ahead 76-48 with 4:38 to go. During that stretch 12 makes in a row, Taelon Peter accounted for eight points, followed by Zach Cleveland with six and Kaden Metheny with six. All 12 of the made field goals featured an assist.
Key Stats & Notes
- The Flames (58.2 percent) have shot over 50 percent in three straight games. Liberty is 14-0 when shooting 50 percent or better this season.
- The Flames earn their first-ever win in the Conference USA Championship in what is their second year in CUSA. The Flames and Miners met in the CUSA Championship quarterfinals for the second straight season.
- Liberty improves to 10-0 all-time in conference tournaments as the No. 1 seed.
- The Flames are 24-0 this season when holding their opponent under 70 points.
- Liberty's 21-point win over UTEP tonight was the Flames' largest margin of victory in a conference tournament game since an 89-44 triumph over High Point in the 2004 Big South Championship title game.
- Zach Cleveland led all scorers with 19 points and had a game-high six assists. Cleveland has six or more assists in six of his last seven games and is averaging 6.4 assists per game in that span.
- Kaden Metheny scored 16 points tonight and knocked down four triples. The guard is averaging 18.0 ppg in two career CUSA Tournament games, which both have come against the Miners. Metheny has 10 threes in those two matchups.
- CUSA Sixth Player of the Year Taelon Peter had 14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting and 4-of-4 from deep. Peter added five boards and matched a season high with three steals.
- The Flames improve to 19-14 all-time in conference tournament quarterfinal contests.
- Liberty evens up the all-time series with UTEP at 3-3. The Flames claimed the last two meetings this season.
- Owen Aquino matched a season high with six assists.
- Colin Porter made his 100th career start as a Flame tonight. Porter has started every game of his three-year Flames career. He had seven points and five assists tonight.
The top-seeded Flames will await their semifinal round opponent. Liberty will meet the winner of No. 4 seed Kennesaw State (18-13, 10-8 CUSA) and No. 5 seed New Mexico State (17-14, 10-8 CUSA), who will square off on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The Flames will meet the winner of that game on Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. Eastern at Propst Arena.
Team Stats
UTEP
Lib
FG%
.362
.582
3FG%
.318
.480
FT%
.846
.714
RB
31
30
TO
12
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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