Liberty knocks off Jacksonville State 59-55, moves ahead of Gamecocks into 1st in C-USA

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Kaden Metheny scored 13 points as Liberty beat Jacksonville State 59-55 on Thursday night to take a half-game lead over the Gamecocks in the Conference USA standings.

Metheny shot 4 for 13 (3 for 11 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line for the Flames (23-5, 11-4). Jay Maughmer scored 12 points while shooting 5 for 8, including 1 for 3 from beyond the arc. Zach Cleveland shot 3 of 7 from the field and 4 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 10 points, while adding nine rebounds. It was the sixth victory in a row for the Flames.

The Gamecocks (19-10, 11-5) were led by Jao Ituka, who recorded 14 points. Jaron Pierre Jr. added 13 points and seven rebounds for Jacksonville State. Mason Nicholson also had eight points and 10 rebounds.

Jacksonville State beat the Flames 72-61 at home on Feb. 1.

Cleveland scored six points in the first half for Liberty, who led 31-16 at halftime. Ituka scored Liberty's final seven points as they finished off a four-point victory.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.