CUSA men’s basketball tournament recap: Flames fall to UTEP in quarterfinal

The Liberty University men’s basketball team made its first appearance in the Conference USA tournament as the No. 4 seed, but its run was cut short as the team fell to the No. 6 UTEP Miners 66-57 in the quarterfinal round. The gut-wrenching loss brought the Flames’ season to an end with an 18-14 record. Liberty’s last meeting with the Miners just a few weeks prior resulted in UTEP stealing a 16-point win on Liberty’s home court, and the Flames couldn’t find a response to that loss come tournament time.  

The scoreboard in Propst Arena glowed with hope as the Flames and the Miners were neck and neck in the first half, ending with UTEP holding a mere 1-point advantage over the Flames. Things were looking up for the Flames in the beginning of the second half as they took the lead once again, with redshirt junior guard Kaden Metheny leading the Flames with a game-high 20 points.  

Along with Metheny, redshirt senior forward Kyle Rode and junior guard Joseph Venzant contributed, scoring 10 points each.  

“(It was a) hard-fought game and tough way to end a five-year career of one of the most incredible people that I’ve ever had the chance to be a part of,” Flames Head Coach Ritchie McKay said about the culmination of Rode’s career. 

Though Liberty appeared to be adding fuel to the fire, the Miners did not come to the court without an extinguisher.  

“They did a good job just drawing some fouls there, getting them to the free-throw line and seeing them go in.” Metheny said. “(Tae Hardy) did a great job just pulling away there. We started rushing there a little bit and got up by 12. We could’ve taken a little better of shots, but when you get up 12, never in a million years would I have thought we’d give up a lead like that.” 

The Miners found their momentum in the second half, overcoming the Flames’ substantial lead with several missed free throws from Liberty and Zid Powell surging the Miners ahead with crucial points and rebounds. After a 66-57 result, UTEP confirmed that it would go on to face top-seeded Sam Houston in the title game while the Flames would travel back to the Mountain to hang up their jerseys for the season. 

“UTEP did a great job coming back in the second half. They were very aggressive going to the free-throw line,” McKay said. “We haven’t been a great free-throw-shooting team this season, obviously; they made 19 and we made four. They were definitely more aggressive.” 

The quarterfinal loss marks the first time Liberty will not play in the semifinal round in a conference tournament since the Big South Championship in 2017. The Flames have claimed six conference championship titles in program history, with their last being in 2021. With this being the Flames’ first appearance in a Conference USA Championship, they still have time to work toward earning a championship crown in the coming years.  

“You look at the last five years, and there’s so many moments, so many people, so many memories on and off the court — we could be here for two hours, probably,” Rode said. “I feel like this program is in a really good place, and we’re going to use this as a team to be better next year. I’m so proud of these guys. I wouldn’t have changed the season for anything because there was so much tremendous growth that maybe isn’t measured by a scoreboard from our team. These five years meant the world.” 

White is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion