Metheny leads Liberty against Louisiana Tech after 22-point game

Published Jan. 7, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Liberty Flames (11-3, 3-0 CUSA) at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-6, 1-2 CUSA)

Ruston, Louisiana; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Liberty plays Louisiana Tech after Kaden Metheny scored 22 points in Liberty's 78-69 win over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

The Bulldogs are 8-0 in home games. Louisiana Tech is second in college basketball allowing 59.1 points per game while holding opponents to 36.4% shooting.

The Flames are 3-0 in conference play. Liberty is fifth in the CUSA scoring 81.3 points per game and is shooting 52.3%.

Louisiana Tech scores 69.5 points per game, 1.4 more points than the 68.1 Liberty gives up. Liberty has shot at a 52.3% rate from the field this season, 15.9 percentage points higher than the 36.4% shooting opponents of Louisiana Tech have averaged.

The Bulldogs and Flames match up Thursday for the first time in CUSA play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: AJ Bates is averaging 11.7 points and 5.9 assists for the Bulldogs. DJ Dudley is averaging 14.7 points over the last 10 games.

Brett Decker Jr. is scoring 18.0 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists for the Flames. Metheny is averaging 14.3 points and 3.5 assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 6-4, averaging 71.1 points, 36.3 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 7.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.4 points per game.

Flames: 7-3, averaging 76.4 points, 26.7 rebounds, 16.9 assists, 6.8 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.8 points.

___

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

share