Liberty (11-3, 3-0 CUSA) was able to grit out a tough win at home over Jacksonville State (7-7, 2-1), on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 3,087 at Liberty Arena.
“Another day in Conference USA,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Another hard fought (game), we anticipate it being hard fought on the regular. I’m proud of our guys for the way they navigated in a little adversity. Obviously, the game was pretty physical. Sometimes the flow gets a little diluted. I think that happened today, and I thought our guy’s response to it was terrific.”
It was a very physical, heated game in the rematch of last year’s CUSA Championship game and a meeting of two teams who entered the game unbeaten in conference play. There were a total of 37 fouls called in the 40 minute game. The Gamecocks were called for two technical fouls and a flagrant while the Flames had one bench technical foul. Liberty was able to take advantage, getting to the free throw line 28 times compared to 19 for Jax State. The Flames shot 22 of 28 from the charity stripe for the game, including a 21 for 24 mark after halftime.
“Coach Harper is a terrific coach,” said McKay. “He chose to try and shorten the game a little bit and then run us off the three. I’m grateful for the guys that we have. They just take what the defenses gives them. We’re not married to leading the nation in this category or that category. We are interested in trying to get the desired outcome. A really good test. Jax State is really good, very well coached, and they are a tough out.”
Liberty jumped out to the lead in the opening minutes before the Gamecocks went on a 15-3 run to take the lead. The Flames went scoreless for 4 minutes and 36 seconds during that run and had four turnovers as part of that span. It was Kaden Metheny who kept the Flames afloat in the opening half, as he made his first four three-pointers and went on a personal 9-0 run to put the home team on top by two in the closing minutes of the first half. The Gamecocks were able to tie the score at 27 before intermission. Metheny scored 15 of the Flames’ 27 points in the opening half.
“Every time he shoots it, I think it’s going in,” McKay said of Metheny. “I’ve seen enough of him now. He’s capable of doing that, so is Brett, so is Colin. We have a few guys that are on the roster that can have nights where that rim looks like an ocean. Part of what we try to do on the daily, work for a great shot. I trust Kaden, even when he’s missed 10 in a row I think the next one is going in.”
It was Liberty’s fifth straight win and ended the Gamecocks’ three-game win streak. The Flames also improved to 3-0 in conference play, the first time ever getting to that mark in the team’s three seasons in Conference USA. Liberty last started a season at 3-0 in conference during the 2022-23 season, the last for the program in the ASUN. The Flames beat Jacksonville State on their home floor on January 5, 2023 to get to that 3-0 mark, nearly three years to the date.
Liberty is now a perfect 8-0 at home this season. The Flames entered Sunday’s game shooting 57.5% from the field and 46.1% from three in their home building with an average margin of victory of 30.9 points. Sunday’s win, with the Flames shooting 44.4% from the floor, was the first time the team has been under 50% at home this season and the second worst overall, only the game at NC State did Liberty shoot a worse percentage.
A CUSA Preseason All-Conference team selection, Jax State forward Mostapha El Moutaouakkil had his worst offensive performance of the season. He finished with his lowest scoring output for the Gamecocks, finishing with 8 points on 3 of 15 shooting. El Moutaouakkil, a Louisiana transfer from Morocco, appeared in 33 games for the Ragin’ Cajuns last season and led the squad in scoring. He currently ranks among the leaders in CUSA in scoring, entering the game averaging 18.8 points per game and the Gamecocks are looking to have a player lead the conference in scoring for a third straight year after Kyky Tandy and Jaron Pierre did so over the prior two seasons. Liberty faced El Moutaouakkil last year when he was at Louisiana. The Flames won that game, 89-69, to open the 2024 Paradise Jam, a game in which Mostapha also had 8 points, shooting 3 of 7 from the floor.
“He’s a featured player (for Jax State),” said McKay of El Moutaouakkil. “Because of that, he makes it really hard, and those guys around him, they get him the ball. I just felt like our defense had to have some patience to it. Unlike the two previous games we had, those possessions are very short and you have to get back and be ready for attack. Jax will do that a little bit if they have numbers, but what they’ve shown, for the most part this year, is getting it to him and letting him go to work because he is a high level scorer.”
Metheny finished the game with 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He finished 5 of 9 from three. Brett Decker scored 16 and was 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Colin Porter scored 13 while Josh Smith had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Zach Cleveland rounded out the double figure scorers for Liberty, finishing with 10 points, to go along with his 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
Liberty will be back in action with a two-game road swing this coming week at Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston. The Flames will play the Bulldogs on Thursday in Ruston, Louisiana at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and the Bearkats on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Louisiana Tech is currently 8-5 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. They lost at Middle Tennessee, 88-51, on Friday night and at Western Kentucky, 66-61, on Sunday. Sam Houston is currently 8-6 on the season and 0-3 in conference play after they lost at Middle Tennessee, 68-67, on Sunday.
