Flames Sprint to Victory over Buccaneers

Game Highlights (Video)

Four players scored in double figures, led by Seth Curry and his 27 points, as the Liberty Flames (11-6, 2-3 BSC) defeated the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (5-9, 1-3 BSC) on Saturday night, 79-60, inside the Vines Center. The victory snapped Liberty's two-game losing streak.

Kelvin Martin tallied a bucket at 18:09 to mark the contest's first scoring, but the two-pointer was promptly followed by eight straight Liberty points to give the Flames the lead. Brolin Floyd tallied a bucket, followed by two three-point buckets by Curry, his second capping the streak at 16:31, giving the Flames an 8-2 lead.

The Flames and Buccaneers traded buckets, which was then followed by six straight Charleston Southern points, tying the score at 12-12. A Giedrius Knysas bucket capped the run at 13:09.

Four straight free throws by Floyd, followed by a Tyler Baker and Curry bucket was part of eight straight Liberty points, starting a 10-2 run. A Baker bucket at 8:05 capped the spurt, giving the Flames the lead for the remainder of the first half, 22-14.

A Jamarco Warren bucket at 4:48 brought Charleston Southern to within five points, 29-24, via a 10-5 jaunt. Two Curry free throws and an Anthony Smith dunk at 3:52 extended the Flames' lead up to nine points, 33-24.

Charleston Southern then scored five straight points to cut the Liberty lead down to four points, 33-29. A Knysas bucket at 1:22 ended the scoring spurt. Curry would add a field goal at 1:00 to finish the first half scoring, sending Liberty into the intermission with a six point lead, 35-29.

Liberty connected on 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the floor during the opening 20 minutes of action, including 30 percent (3-of-10) from three-point land.

Charleston Southern was successful on 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from the floor, but the Bucs were only able to hit on 2-of-13 attempts from behind the arc (15.4 percent).

Warren scored seven straight points and Knysas tallied two markers in the paint to help Charleston Southern score nine unanswered points to open the second half, storming to a four point lead, 39-35, the Buccaneers' first since opening two minutes of the game.

Three Kelvin Martin blocks on attempted lay-ups by the Flames kept Liberty from finding the scoreboard during the first three minutes of the second half and open up what would be Charleston Southern's largest lead of the game.

Smith hit a trey and then connected on a free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play at 16:24 to give Liberty the lead back at 41-39. Johnny Stephene tallied a lay-up at 16:01, capping eight straight Liberty points, giving the Flames' a four point lead, 43-39.

Two Omar Carter buckets cut the Liberty advantage to two points, 45-43, his second coming at 14:48. Carter completed the three-point play with a free throw at 13:45, giving Charleston Southern a one point lead, 48-47, finishing off a 5-2 spurt.

Charleston Southern's last advantage of the game didn't last too long, one Liberty possession to be exact, as a Curry bucket in the lane regained the lead for the Flames, 49-48, with 13:27 left to play. Curry's two-pointer jumped started a 32-12 Liberty run to close the game.

Liberty finished the game connecting on 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the floor, including 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from three-point land.

Pacing the Flames with 27 points was Curry, his highest total this season inside the Vines Center. Curry connected on 11-of-18 from the floor, including 3-of-9 from three-point land. Smith added 13 points and six rebounds, while Floyd and Ohman finished with 12 and 11 points respectively. Sanders was the only starter not in double figures (six points), but finished tied for a team-high six rebounds.

Charleston Southern finished the contest hitting 40.7 percent (24-of-59) of its shot attempts from the field, but continued to struggle from long range as they hit only 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from beyond the arc.

Warren led the Buccaneers with 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while Carter and Knysas added 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the losing cause.

Liberty returns to action on Monday night when the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers invade the Vines Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).

Charleston Southern will travel to take on the Radford Highlanders on Monday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Schedule

Flames Sprint to Victory over Buccaneers

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Team Stats

Seth Curry

Anthony Smith

Brolin Floyd

Kyle Ohman