Liberty (19-3, 11-0 CUSA) overcame a second half deficit, sparked by a 13-0 run to overcome a pesky Delaware (6-16, 2-9), 75-69, on Wednesday night in Newark, Delaware. The win extends Liberty’s winning streak to 13, the second best in school history only trailing a 14-game win streak from the start of the 2019-20 season. It also extends a program best start to conference play at 11-0.
“Delaware is really well-coached,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “The 5 of 6 guys that play, they know their roles. They know what they’re doing. I knew this was going to be hard. Obviously pleased we were able to stretch it out a little bit, but even when it got as high as nine, they came back. It was a one-possession game, but again this is Conference USA. It’s going to be like this. Pay no heed to you’re supposed to win this game or you’re this many points better than that team. None of that matters to this league and in most leagues, it’s just college basketball.”
Despite cold shooting in the first half, Liberty was able to build a seven point lead following a Colin Porter three at the 7:19 mark of the opening half. The Flames would go the next 3:49 without scoring though, allowing the Blue Hens to score seven straight to tie the game. A Porter triple at the 3:30 mark would end the scoreless drought. Delaware closed the half on a 14-6 run over the final 6:24 of the first half to take a 30-29 lead into the break. It marked just the fourth time this season Liberty was trailing at half. It was the first time the Flames have trailed at half in conference play and first time trailing at half since the win at Dayton, which began the current 13-game winning streak on Dec. 20. The Flames were just 5 of 17 from three before the intermission.
The Flames would trail for the bulk of the first 10 minutes of the second half, with the lead growing to as many as six for the home team with 12:08 remaining. The lead was five with less than 10 minutes to play before Liberty went on a 13-0 run to retake the lead it would not relinquish. The run started with a Josh Smith layup, including three-pointers from Kaden Metheny and Brett Decker, and added five points from Porter. As part of the run, Liberty connected on eight straight field goals, including five from behind the arc.
The Blue Hens wouldn’t go away quietly. They held Liberty scoreless for 3:28 after the Flames led by eight. It help spur a 6-0 UD run as they cut the lead to two with 30 seconds remaining. From there, the senior point guard Colin Porter made six straight free throws over the final 30 seconds to secure the win for the Flames, as Liberty improves to 6-0 on the road in CUSA play.
Liberty has won 16 straight contests (including postseason play) against Conference USA opponents and is 22-1 in its last 23 games against conference foes dating back to last year. Liberty is the first team to start 11-0 or better in CUSA play since the 2022-23 Florida Atlantic team (11-0), who went on to make the Final Four.
Porter led the way for the Flames, tying his season-high with 23 points. He was 5 of 8 from the field, 4 of 7 from three, and a perfect 9 of 9 from the charity stripe including 6 in the final 30 seconds.
Josh Smith added 14 points off the bench, pacing the Flames to a 14-0 edge in bench points. He was 5 of 6 from the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line to go along with 5 rebounds. JJ Harper scored 13 points and made all 5 of his free throws while Kaden Metheny was 4 of 10 from three and finished with 12 points and a season-high 7 rebounds.
Brett Decker finished the game with 9 points on 3 of 7 shooting from three. It ends his streak of double figure scoring which lasted all 21 games to begin the season. He has been Liberty’s leading scorer (or tied) 10 times and has eight 20-plus point games. He entered Wednesday night’s game averaging a team-best 17.6 ppg in 10 CUSA games. He led Liberty in scoring in the first matchup against Delaware with 25 points.
Liberty was 18 of 20 from the free throw line during the game, good for 90%. Both teams shot 51% from the field while Liberty made 11 of 27 from three (41%).
“I think our guys are confident,” McKay said of his team’s free throw shooting. “We have really good shooters. The free throw numbers have been misrepresented in terms of the skill this team has represented over the years. Colin (Porter) is such a stabilizer. Aaron Schreiner, our long-time trainer, said in the locker room, ‘I’m grateful for how calm Colin is.’ Aaron, so am I.”
Delaware’s big man Tyler Houser led the team with 14 points on 6 of 9 and 2 of 4 from three in the opening half. The Flames held him scoreless after intermission as he missed all three of his field goal attempts.
After playing three of the past four on the road, Liberty returns home for a Saturday afternoon matinee against Missouri State. The Bears are currently 13-9 overall and 7-4 in conference play in their first season in Conference USA. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. on CBS Sports Network from Liberty Arena.
