LYNCHBURG, Va. -- — Julius Thedford scored 18 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 32.2 seconds left, and Western Kentucky defeated Liberty 71-70 on Thursday night.

Thedford also contributed five rebounds for the Hilltoppers (10-4, 1-0 Conference USA). Tyrone Marshall added 12 points while going 6 of 7 and 0 of 3 from the free-throw line while they also had eight rebounds. Don McHenry shot 4 for 14 (1 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points.

Zach Cleveland finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Flames (12-2, 0-1). Liberty also got 17 points and two steals from Kaden Metheny. Owen Aquino also had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. The loss ended a nine-game winning streak for the Flames.

Western Kentucky went into halftime trailing 35-21. Thedford scored a team-high 15 points.

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