Three takeaways from Liberty’s win over UMES

Liberty improved to 6-0 on the season with a win over Maryland Eastern-Shore (2-4), 99-62, on Saturday at Liberty Arena with an attendance of 2,524.

“Anytime you assist the ball 25 times on 39 baskets, that’s a great indicator of your selflessness,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Defensively, we were pretty tough to play against given all the different lineups that played today. Really pleased with our group. I think it’s easy this day and age to have a little different approach to the game if you got a little attention. Our guys didn’t do that, they showed a great sense of appreciation to be back out there in front of our fans.”

The Flames utilized an 11-0 run in the early parts of the first half, spurted by 10 points from Kaden Metheny to push the lead to double figures. A 13-0 run pushed the lead to 27 going into the locker room break at 50-23. The team would have no letdown after intermission, even pushing the lead past the 30 point mark while cruising to a sixth straight victory to open the new season.

Liberty finished the game 15 of 31 from three with 7 different players making one from behind the arc and five different players reached double figures.

Liberty is back in action this coming weekend as the Flames head to Boca Raton, Florida for two games. Liberty will take on No. 19 Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Nov. 30 in a game televised on ESPNU. The Owls, a Final Four participant last season who returns most of their lineup, is currently 4-1 on the season and plays Virginia Tech on Sunday.

The Flames will then take on Charleston on Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. in Boca in a game that will be televised on FloHoops.

NO SLOW START SATURDAY

Every game so far this season, the Flames have gotten off to a slow start, even against Mid-Atlantic Christian in the opener. In the games in Myrtle Beach last week, Liberty even fell behind in all three games before coming back for the victories.

A slow start was not in the cards for Liberty on Saturday against the Hawks. The Flames had an 11-0 and 17-2 run in the opening minutes of the first half to push the lead to 23-6 at the 10:54 mark of the first half.

Perhaps to help offset some of the slow starts, Coach McKay dialed up a pretty first possession for the home team. Colin Porter utilized a ball screen from Zach Cleveland who rolled off the screen and went straight to the bucket and received the alley-oop pass from Porter for the two points.

Cleveland did immediately grab his left arm after that play, quickly going to the bench. Fortunately, for him and the Flames, Cleveland returned to the game just a few minutes later after being looked at by Liberty’s trainer.

“I think this group has the experience necessary for knowing the game sometimes has some bumpy roads in it,” McKay said of the hot start. “Important, but we never pay attention to the halftime score. We’re really just trying to focus on that next possession. I thought our guys did a good job of that.”

METHENY’S HOT SHOOTING PROPELS FLAMES

Bowling Green transfer guard Kaden Metheny came out shooting hot in the first half, scoring 16 points before intermission. He made 6 of 8 shots in the opening 20 minutes including 4 of 6 from three. That included a couple of deep range shots that were heat checks for the 5’10” guard.

The 16 first half points set a new Liberty scoring high for him, besting his mark of 15 points set against Furman last week. His career high is 29, set during his time at Bowling Green on Feb. 23, 2021 in a game at Eastern Michigan. The sharpshooter would finish with 20 points as he played sparingly in the second half.

BALANCED SCORING CONTINUES

You never know who will end up having the offensive touch for Liberty this season. One night it can be Kyle Rode, the next it can be Zach Cleveland. Maybe even Brody Peebles or Kaden Metheny will be the team’s leader on a give night.

That trend continued on Saturday against UMES. Metheny paced the way through the first half while Joseph Venzant reached double figures for the first time this season.

Against the Hawks, Metheny paced the way with 20 while Brody Peebles (15), Joseph Venzant (12), Zach Cleveland (10), and Shiloh Robinson (10) all got in double figures.

“We see it on the regular,” McKay said of Metheny’s scoring prowess. “He’s such a selfless young man, but when he gets going he can be Darius-like in spurts, but we have a few guys that can get hot – Brody, Kyle. We’ve seen it. He doesn’t get enough acclaim, but Joseph Venzant was so good today on both ends of the floor. I think he’s a really good piece to our puzzle.”