EL PASO, Texas (AP) JJ Harper's 18 points helped Liberty Flames defeat UTEP 73-64 on Saturday.

Harper added six rebounds for the Flames (22-3, 14-0 Conference USA). Brett Decker Jr. went 6 of 14 from the field (3 for 9 from 3-point range) to add 17 points. Zach Cleveland shot 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. The Flames picked up their 16th straight victory.

Elijah Jones finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for the Miners (10-16, 6-9). UTEP also got 14 points from KJ Thomas. Kaseem Watson finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Liberty took a 28-25 lead in the first half with a 13-0 run. Led by 10 first-half points from Decker, Liberty carried a 28-26 lead into the break. Harper's 3-pointer with 14:22 left in the second half gave Liberty the lead for good at 39-36.

---

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

Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.