Liberty Men’s Basketball Competes in 2024 Paradise Jam

The Liberty University Men’s Basketball team traveled down to the sunny U.S. Virgin Islands to compete in the 2024 Paradise Jam tournament Nov. 22-25, and made it to the final round to claim the championship title.  

Looking forward to three rounds of competition, the Flames first took on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns Nov. 22. The Flames won the jump ball and were the first to put points up on the board with a jumper from redshirt senior guard Jayvon Maughmer.  

The Flames remained dominant, controlling the play. With 14:04 remaining in the half, junior guard Colin Porter secured a three-point jumper off an opponent turnover putting the score at 14-9 with Liberty leading.  

Louisiana’s junior guard Koron Davis secured a dunk in the paint from a fast break off a turnover from the Flames with 7:22 left in the half. The scales continued to tip in Liberty’s favor leaving the score at 29-18.  

The Ragin’ Cajuns suffered another turnover, which gave Liberty junior forward Owen Aquino the chance to sink a layup into the net. The score remained at 45-32 with the Flames staying in control going into the second half.  

Liberty junior forward Zach Cleveland capitalized off another turnover by securing a layup for the Flames. The score was raised to 50-35 with Liberty leading the scoreboard.  

 Porter and redshirt senior guard Kaden Metheny both drained three-point jumpers, which enabled Liberty to extend its lead 56-37.  

The Flames outshot the Ragin’ Cajuns in free-throws 14-11 this game. Liberty locked down its first win of the series with an 89-69 final score. This win advanced Liberty to the semifinal game against Kansas State University Nov. 24.  

The second game of the competition began with a different start for Liberty as KSU won the jump ball. After KSU junior guard C.J. Jones collected the first points for the Wildcats, neither team was able to find the net in the following minutes.  

Liberty’s Aquino broke the stalemate with 17:07 remaining in the half to put the Flames on the scoreboard. Metheny continued this momentum, capitalizing on a turnover from KSU. 

The score rose to 4-2, allowing Liberty to take the lead. Porter gained his first points of the game from a turnaround jumper off a KSU turn over, bringing the score up to 13-10.  

The Wildcats had an answer for the Flames, taking their lead back with a jump shot from junior guard Dug McDaniel with under twelve minutes remaining in the half. 

With KSU now in the lead, Liberty tried to regain some momentum. Redshirt junior forward Isaiah Ihnen brought the house down with a dunk off of a fast break. The score was now 27-24 with the Wildcats still leading.  

Liberty’s redshirt junior forward Zander Yates and Metheny drained two 3-pointers to bring the Flames back into the lead 30-29.  

Ihnen had his second dunk of the game with 6:21 remaining in the second half. Liberty stayed in control for the remainder of the game. The Flames secured the 67-65 win and earned a place in the championship game against the McNeese State University Cowboys Nov. 25.  

Before coming into the championship game, McNeese defeated Illinois State University (76-68) and Longwood University (84-69).  

McNeese won the jump ball, which led to some back-and-forth shot attempts before senior forward Christian Shumate was able to slam one in for his first dunk of the game. This dunk put the first points on the board and the Cowboys into the lead 2-0. 

Liberty quickly answered back with a three-pointer from Maughmer, raising the score to 3-2. The Cowboys locked down two back-to-back jumpers from junior guard Sincere Parker and Shumate.  

Scoring was neck and neck for the remainder of the half, leaving the score tied 29-29 at halftime.  

Liberty managed to gain some momentum in its direction in the second half to earn a 10-point lead over McNeese with 12:07 remaining. The Flames managed to hold this lead for six minutes of play until McNeese managed to turn the tables in its direction and shorten the gap with Liberty.  

A dunk from Parker put McNeese in a spot to only be trailing by one point with 51 seconds remaining in the game. Liberty managed to secure three free throws from Maughmer and Ihnen in the final minute of play to hold its lead.   

The Flames stepped off the court with a 62-58 win over McNeese, earning the title of 2024 Paradise Jam champions.  

“God’s been great in this trip,” Porter said. “Not even the wins, just the way that we’ve been able to bond as a team. It’s been so special.”  

Porter was named the Paradise Jam MVP and made the All-Tournament team along with Metheny.  

Upon their return to Lynchburg, the Flames faced off against Central Penn College in the Liberty Arena Nov. 29 where they won 93-36 on home soil.  

The Flames will also take on Mississippi Valley State University at the Liberty Arena Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. 

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