Liberty (14-2, 2-1 CUSA) defeated Sam Houston (7-9, 0-3 CUSA), 76-68, on the road Thursday night in Huntsville, Texas to pick up a much needed win on the road.
“I’m proud of our group,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “It’s really difficult to get road wins. I thought our group responded really well tonight. Taelon Peter off the bench was terrific. Sam Houston made it hard on us, some guys did some little things I thought that were able to allow us to separate a little bit. When you have a group that plays selflessly, often times you can win some of these grimy ones that playing on the road sometimes warrants.”
CUSA was one of the more difficult leagues in the country last year to win on the road and it is shaping up to be that way again this season. The Flames were just 1-7 away from Liberty Arena in conference play a season ago, with one of those losses coming in Huntsville, Texas to Sam Houston, 83-73, on February 17. The Bearkats have also been nearly unbeatable on their home floor, having won 16 straight conference games on their home floor, having not lost a home conference game since joining Conference USA. Sam Houston was 4-0 at home this year and had won 13 straight at home. The last conference home loss for Sam Houston was on January 5, 2023 to Grand Canyon in overtime.
“In this league, it’s going to be hard every night, especially on the road,” said McKay. “Your team’s ability to have the emotional maturity to not let the crowd or the circumstances dictate your response in a negative way, I think is critically important. Our group, I think we are mature enough to do that. I like the direction we are headed.”
It was a back and forth first half with 3 ties and 12 lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. The final lead change came at the final horn of the first half when Colin Porter knocked down the buzzer-beater from half court after McKay called a timeout with just over 2 seconds remaining. That bucket gave Porter a team high 8 points in the opening half to make the score 35-33.
The Flames were able to push the lead to double figures with a 51-41 advantage midway through the second half. Sam Houston would quickly respond with a 10-0 spurt in a 2:13 span to tie the contest at the 10:21 mark.
Porter would end that Bearkat run with a three-pointer, putting the Flames back on top at 54-51. Sam Houston would tie it once again at 54 before Liberty went on a 12-3 run to seize control of the game once again.
After a Sam Houston timeout, Lamar Wilkerson hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to six. On the ensuing Liberty possession, Taelon Peter missed his initial shot but Jayvon Maughmer got the offensive rebound and Peter got the and-1 to push the lead back to 9 with 4 minutes to play.
The Liberty defense would then clamp down in the closing minutes. The Flames held Sam Houston empty on five of six possessions as Liberty had a commanding 9-point lead with less than a minute to play and would hang on for the victory.
“For any program that’s trying to win a championship, you have to be tough on defense,” said McKay. “Part of that toughness is being fully engaged for the entire possession, especially those guys, our returners – Zach Cleveland, Kaden Metheny, Colin Porter – they did a spectacular job of it, but the longer the season goes, you can kind of sense Owen, Taelon, Jayvon, they are starting to do it, as well.”
Porter led the Flames in scoring with 17 points. He made all four of his field goals, including three from behind the arc. He was also perfect on his six free throws. Porter added 5 assists, 3 steals, and just 1 turnover in 35 minutes. He also played strong defense against the bigger Sam Houston guards.
It was truly a balanced attack for the Flames. Peter finished with 15 points. Maughmer had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Owen Aquino added 10 points and 12 rebounds. Kaden Metheny scored 9 points while Zach Cleveland had 8 points and 7 rebounds.
“We are a sum of our parts,” McKay noted. “When we win, it usually takes all of us. Par for the course, we had a pretty balanced score sheet. I never want to not recognize the little things that are done on the court because I think those are also important.”
Zander Yates and Gabriel McKay were the first two subs off the bench after the team’s first six players. Coach McKay also played Kai Yu and Will Gibson briefly in the second half. It was Gibson’s first playing time this season as a true freshman, as he was originally expected to redshirt this year.
“Just trying to find some more depth,” McKay said of his bench usage Thursday night. “I think Will has practiced tremendously well. Curty, Zander, and Kai, even Bryson, are all options for us. It will be a game-time decision. The circumstances will dictate it. How we perform in practice and the combination of players they would be on the court with, including just the matchups and where we feel like we could gain an advantage, we will substitute accordingly.”
Lamar Wilkerson, a preseason all-conference selection, tried to will Sam Houston to the victory. He finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with 9 rebounds.
Liberty continued to struggle from the free throw line, connecting on 13 of 22 from the charity stripe for 59.1% on Thursday night. Liberty did shoot 11 of 27 for 40.7% from three in the win.
“Other than maybe not shooting the ball from the foul line well, which it will continue to be the narrative, but not talked about much in a victory, I thought we played a pretty complete game,” said McKay. “This is a team that I think plays with a great sense of physicality and toughness. I thought our response was really good.”
Liberty stays on the road this weekend, taking on Louisiana Tech on Saturday. LA Tech picked up their first win in conference play earlier Thursday night, defeating FIU, 81-64. CUSA’s preseason favorite, Louisiana Tech is 12-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Flames and Bulldogs are scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m on ESPNU.
