Liberty faces Western Kentucky following Cleveland’s 20-point outing

By Canadian Press on January 20, 2026.

Liberty Flames (15-3, 7-0 CUSA) at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (11-7, 4-3 CUSA)

Bowling Green, Kentucky; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Liberty visits Western Kentucky after Zach Cleveland scored 20 points in Liberty’s 80-69 victory over the UTEP Miners.

The Hilltoppers are 8-2 on their home court. Western Kentucky is third in the CUSA with 25.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Armelo Boone averaging 4.7.

The Flames have gone 7-0 against CUSA opponents. Liberty is ninth in the CUSA with 22.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Cleveland averaging 7.5.

Western Kentucky’s average of 8.3 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.5 more made shots on average than the 7.8 per game Liberty allows. Liberty has shot at a 52.6% clip from the field this season, 11.1 percentage points greater than the 41.5% shooting opponents of Western Kentucky have averaged.

The Hilltoppers and Flames match up Wednesday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Teagan Moore is shooting 49.5% and averaging 17.1 points for the Hilltoppers. Ryan Myers is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Brett Decker Jr. is averaging 17.8 points for the Flames. Kaden Metheny is averaging 12.3 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hilltoppers: 5-5, averaging 76.3 points, 37.2 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 7.4 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 38.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.7 points per game.

Flames: 9-1, averaging 76.7 points, 26.4 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.9 points.

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

The Associated Press