Liberty (5-0) opened play this week in the 2025 Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational with a win over Vermont (4-2), 70-63, on Monday afternoon from the State Farm Fieldhouse at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. With the win, the Flames move into the winner’s bracket of the event and will face Towson Tuesday afternoon.
“I was really proud of our group, that’s a really well-coached team that we played,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Vermont’s got a tradition of success that I think every time they step on the court, they walk on it with an expectation to win. I thought they would be a really tough out. Really happy with our group. It’s been choppy practices because of some rest for our guys. We really responded, especially early. I’m happy to win and advance. I think the first one is always a really tough one. Tomorrow, with only 20 hours in between games, it will probably be just as hard if not harder.”
The Flames led for nearly 38 minutes of the action Monday, only trailing in the opening minutes. The lead grew to as large as 16 midway through the first half, but Vermont would not go down without a fight. The Catamounts cut the Liberty lead to six with five minutes remaining, but the Flames’ Colin Porter and JJ Harper responded with three-point baskets in less than 30 seconds to push the lead back out to double figures. Vermont would close the game on a 6-2 run in the final 41 seconds to get back to the six point deficit.
“When they made a run, they cut it to as few as six, I think we responded,” said McKay. “When you play in events like these, the quality of the opponent was significant. I think it’s great preparation for our league. I think our guys showed some fortitude in terms of how we responded with missed shots. As long as they are good ones, I’m going to live with that.”
Brett Decker continued where he left off from early in the season with his hot play early in the game Monday, knocking down three shots from behind the arc as Liberty staked a 13-6 lead early. His hot shooting got the Flames going as Liberty made 10 straight field goals for an extended stretch as the lead grew to as many as 16. Decker made his first four three-point attempts, and Liberty’s offensive explosion came despite Kaden Metheny being held quiet and scoring just two points in the opening 20 minutes. The offensive fireworks slowed late in the first half as Liberty went the final 3:49 of the opening half without scoring, allowing Vermont to close the half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 40-32 at the break, the closest they had been since more than 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
Out of the break, Metheny was aggressive, scoring the first five points after intermission in the first 90 seconds of action, quickly extending Liberty’s lead to 13. Metheny finished the game with 14 points despite only shooting 1 of 7 from behind the arc.
Brett Decker led the Flames in scoring, reaching a game-high 23 points on 7 of 11 shooting and 5 of 7 from three. Zach Cleveland had 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting to go along with 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Colin Porter rounded out the double digit scorers for the Flames, finishing with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Stetson transfer Josh Smith played seven minutes, finishing with 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting as he continues to fight his way back from an injury suffered in the spring of 2023 while at Stetson.
The Flames finished the game shooting 56% from the field and were 10 of 24 (42%) from three. Liberty did struggle from the line for the first time this season, only connecting on 9 of 18 foul shots. Vermont shot 48% for the game and made 8 of 24 (33%) from three.
This was the second all-time meeting between the squads with both of them now coming during early season tournaments. The Flames defeated the Catamounts 71-61 in the championship game of the 2023 Myrtle Beach Invitational. Liberty has seen tremendous success in early season tournaments in recent seasons with five in-season tournament titles coming into this week’s play in central Florida, including this year’s Field of 68 Tip-Off event. Liberty has also won t he 2024 Paradise Jam, the 2023 Myrtle Beach Invitational, the Bahamas Showcase and the DC Holiday Hoops Fest both in 2019. Liberty was 7-2 in neutral site games last year as they pick up their first win away from Liberty Arena so far this season.
“Anytime you play against a team that is that well-coached and has the multitude of offensive weaponry that they have, I think it is good for us,” said McKay. “We are still a little undermanned. Josh Smith has probably practiced a dozen times full speed. Isaiah (Ihnen), although he’s getting closer and closer, is still out. We are playing our starters some long minutes. I’m ok with that. It will level out as the season progresses. I do think we had some good contributions off the bench from Zander Carter, Josh Smith, Zander Yates. I think this tournament is really good for us. It’s a quality group of mid majors.”
Liberty will return to the floor on Tuesday afternoon after advancing to the winner’s bracket of the ESPN Invitational. The Flames will take on Towson (4-2) who defeated Rhode Island in the first game of the event earlier on Monday, 62-55. Dylan Williamson was one of three Towson players in double figures, leading the way with 25 points. Tuesday’s game is scheduled to begin at 12 noon and will be televised on ESPN2.
“They have really good size,” McKay said of Towson. “They are confident. I think Pat does a really good job. They are really good defensively. They will have a plan. They will have a plan, I can guarantee you, how to combat some of our strengths. It will be a great challenge. We are in pretty close proximity, institution to institution, the fact that we are coming down to Orlando to play each other, I guess that will be fun to watch.
