Winless In Seattle

When it comes to March Madness, underdog stories are not uncommon, but for the No. 12 seeded Liberty University Men’s Basketball team, a Cinderella story was not in the cards as they fell to the No. 5 University of Oregon March 21 in the Round of 64, 81-52.  

“Growing up, these are moments that you dream of being a part of the NCAA Tournament,” redshirt senior guard Kaden Metheny said. “… I think we did a great job as a group, knowing how special of a moment this was and how fortunate and blessed we were to be able to be here and wish we could have gone a little further.” 

After a successful regular season concluding with taking the Conference USA title, the Flames punched their ticket to the 2025 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 where they traveled further than any other team to face the Ducks at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. This matchup was the teams’ first ever meeting.  

The Ducks won the tipoff, courtesy of senior center Nate Bittle’s impressive 7-foot length allowing a slight advantage over 6-foot-8 junior forward Owen Aquino. From there, Oregon broke off with an early lead that they ran with until the game’s final seconds.  

“Their length at the rim with Bittle and Angel and Cook and Evans, it’s a hard equation for us,” Head Coach Ritchie McKay said. 

Bittle returned the ball in a jump shot to make the first dent in the scoreboard, followed by a 3-pointer from senior forward Brandon Angel. The Flames responded with a layup by Aquino to bring the score 5-2, but from there Liberty was held scoreless by the Ducks as they went on a 13-point run.  

Despite entering the competition as one of the nation’s leading shooters, ranked sixth at 49.4%, Liberty remained locked in an offensive drought for the first half. The Flames failed to complete crucial threes as they shot a narrow 25% from the field, compared to the Duck’s 55.2%.  

Metheny found the Flames’ first successful 3-pointer at the 9:35 mark. The Flames’ offense began to see signs of life as redshirt senior guard Jayvon Maughmer returned the ball for a dunk, followed by a successful free throw, bringing the score to 27-14.   

Bittle responded with Oregon’s next four scoring drives, boosting the score to 34-14. 

Despite the Flames’ attempt at cutting the deficit, Oregon’s sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad closed out the half with a jumper followed by a three in the final seconds. The Flames left the court down 44-20, which was their largest deficit at halftime for the entire season.  

“They did a terrific job taking away some of the things that we do well, and they were dominant tonight,” McKay said. 

Returning to the court for the final half, the Flames began to spark as junior forward Zach Cleveland found the first bucket of the period, followed by an offensive rebound that brought in for a dunk by Maughmer, upping the score 44-24.  

Baskets were traded back and forth, but between their length disadvantage and 3-point struggles, the Ducks were soaring, and the Flames could not keep up.  

“We got some looks that we wanted,” Metheny said. “But their two big guys down in the paint clogged up some looks at the paint, which gave us some struggles.” 

After another 3-point jumper by Bittle, junior guard Colin Porter fired back with a quick jump shot, setting the score to 69-41.  

With the Ducks continuing to run with the score, freshman guard Brett Decker Jr. hit a hot streak, with a layup in the paint and a 3-pointer to boost the Flames 78-49 with under a minute to go.  

Oregon replied with their final three of the night, but it was Decker who closed the game, securing one last 3-pointer with 13 seconds left on the clock. The game concluded 81-52 to end the Flames’ season as Oregon advanced to the next round of the NCAA Tournament. 

“We’ve always said that we won’t base our identity on the outcome of a game, and we were really privileged to be a part of the NCAA Tournament, to represent our university, our conference, and we’ll root for Oregon for the next game,” McKay said. 

The Flames’ score from the game was the lowest the Flames have been held to this season, shooting at a season low of 32.8% overall. Despite their defeat, the team walked off the court with heads held high, because win or lose, they play for a greater purpose.  

“It was a great chance to glorify God, and I think we did that by caring more about each other than ourselves,” Cleveland said. “So, getting to do that on a national stage was special, and we’re grateful that our God loves us just as much as he did before the game.” 

White is the sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X.