Colin Porter and Kaden Metheny combined for 30 points as Liberty knocked off Kansas State 67-65 in the semifinals of the Paradise Jam Sunday evening in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Flames will face McNeese State in the championship game Monday night. The Wildcats will face Longwood in the third-place game.
Porter and Metheny, who both stand less than 6 feet tall, had 17 points in the second half against a much taller Wildcats team.
Porter’s 17 points led Liberty (6-1). Isaiah Ihnen added 16 and Metheny had 13.
Kansas State (4-2) was led by Brendan Hausen with 14 points. Coleman Hawkins added 11, and David N’Guessan and Achor Achor chipped in 10 apiece.
The Flames built their biggest lead at 41-33 at the 16:06 mark of the second half. They led 50-44 before Hausen hit back-to-back 3-pointers from almost the same spot to tie the game.
Liberty kept grabbing the lead and Kansas State answered. When Achor hit a baseline turn-around jumper, Kansas State led 63-62, its first lead since 29-27.
But Porter’s contested 3-pointer allowed Liberty to regain the lead on the next possession.
With the Wildcats trailing 65-63 in the final minute, Hausen missed a 3-pointer and Owen Aquino was fouled on the rebound. He hit both free throws, giving the Flames a 67-63 lead.
Hawkins hit a driving layup to trim the deficit to two points.
After an empty trip for Liberty, the Wildcats had three chances to tie or take the lead on their final possession. Dug McDaniel’s 3-pointer caromed off the rim into the hands of N’Guessan, whose putback missed. McDaniel’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was off target.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half. Liberty scored the final eight points of the half and took a 32-29 lead into the locker room.
The Flames were led by Ihnen with 10 points off the bench in the first half. Metheny had seven and Porter had six.
Kansas State got six points apiece from McDaniel and CJ Jones, and six points from N’Guessan.
–Field Level Media
