Liberty (6-2) got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon, bouncing back from two-straight losses last week in Florida, by defeating Coppin State (2-10), 92-50, in front of 2,878 fans at Liberty Arena.
“Was really happy with our response,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Our group had a lot of opportunity to possibly be discouraged. We didn’t play like ourselves towards the latter part of our trip to Orlando, nine days before a game, Isaiah (Ihnen) got injured again, and we didn’t have Colin Porter. I think there was ample opportunity to maybe have a little less of an approach. I felt like our guys really did a good job of setting the tone.”
The Flames wasted no time jumping out to the early lead. It was 12-1 by the first media timeout of the game as the Eagles missed their first six shots. The lead extended to 23-3 by the second media timeout as Coppin State. Liberty’s run extended to 24-0 as the Eagles missed 13 straight field goals and opened 1 of 20 from the field as the lead grew to 36-3. The Eagles finally made a basket after more than 9 minutes of game action to the pleasure of the Liberty crowd. The Flames would go into the locker room at halftime with a 55-14 lead, holding Coppin State 4 of 28 (14%) from the field and 2 of 13 from three. Meanwhile, Liberty shot 67.7% from the field and made 11 of 15 (73.3%) from three-point range in the opening half.
“I thought we were hard to play against,” said McKay of his team’s defense. “I think we have some growth on that end of the floor to keep pursuing, but I felt like they did a good job of taking away what Coppin likes to do. Josh Smith is coming, getting better each time out. I thought Zach was a phenomenal leader tonight.”
It was much of the same in the second half as Liberty cruised to the victory, improving to 3-0 all-time against Coppin State. It was the first time these two teams, separated by just 220 miles, have met since 1983 when the Flames defeated Coppin State, 52-49 on Dec. 3, 1983.
“I know you will see the KenPom and whatever, but if you watch the West Virginia game the other day, it was 40-32 at halftime,” said McKay of Coppin State. “They are a capable team especially if they get confidence. Really good response from our group.”
Apparently Liberty really enjoys shooting from the friendly confines at Liberty Arena. Entering Saturday’s game, the Flames were shooting 57.6% from the field and 46.4% from three in the team’s first four games of the season, all contests played on their home floor. Last week, in the three games on a neutral floor at the ESPN Events Invitational, Liberty shot 49.1% from the field and 33.8% from three. In the win over Coppin State Saturday, back at home, Liberty shot 58.1% from the field and 16 of 30 (53.3%) from three. Liberty has now shot over 50% from the field in six of eight games this season. The team entered Saturday’s game shooting 54.2% on the year, which ranked third best in the country.
Brett Decker eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season as he continues to be the only Liberty player to reach double figures in every game this season. The sopohomore finished the game with 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting and 6 of 10 from three. He entered Saturday as the national leader in three-pointers per game, making 4.43 per contest.
Josh Smith had the best game of his early Liberty tenure. The 6’9″ redshirt-senior finished the game with 16 points and 7 rebounds as he played in 22 minutes. It’s the most minutes he has played in a game this season as he continues to battle back from his ACL injury suffered in February 2023.
JJ Harper also had the best game of his time in a Liberty uniform so far. He got to 16 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 5 of 7 from the field and 3 of 4 from three.
After scoring 13 points, Kaden Metheny is now just 4 points shy of 1,000 for his Liberty career. He has 1,623 for his college career which dates back to his time at Bowling Green. Metheny was 4 of 6 from three on Saturday and had a career high 7 assists.
Zach Cleveland finished the game with a career-high 13 assists. It’s the most in a game by a Liberty player since Jesse Sanders had 13 on January 21, 2012 in a game where the now Liberty Hall of Famer had a triple double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cleveland began the day third in the country in assists per game, averaging 7.7. He also had 8 points and 7 rebounds in the win over Coppin State.
Perhaps the bigger story for the Flames and the rest of the season is the ongoing status of Colin Porter and Isaiah Ihnen. Both missed the game Saturday. Porter re-aggravated a leg injury late in the second half of Liberty’s prior game last Wednesday in Florida against Bradley. He was on the bench at the end of the game with his left thigh heavily wrapped. Ihnen is recovering from an ACL injury he suffered last December. Last week in Orlando, he was getting an extensive pregame workout on the floor prior to all three games before returning to the bench in uniform without playing. On Saturday, Ihnen was not in uniform and did not go through any pregame workout as he was on the bench and utilizing crutches once again.
“We don’t know yet,” McKay said of Ihnen’s status. “He will see a doctor here in the next 24 years and we will evaluate it then.”
“Colin is day to day,” he said of the team’s point guard. “I think he could have played today if we needed him to. We’ve got to keep growing our group and making sure the guys we get a chance to put out there are free-minded. I don’t think you can be free-minded if you are in pain. Caution I think is the better approach in this case. I could be wrong. In hindsight, I feel like we got better today.”
Liberty will hit the road for their next game on Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina taking on NC State. The Wolfpack are currently 6-3 on the season following t heir 75-63 win over UNC Asheville at home on Saturday. Tip-off from the Lenovo Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ACC Network.
