Flames Suffer Tough Setback at Winthrop

The Liberty Flames (10-5, 1-2 BSC) had an opportunity in the finals seconds to capture a road victory, but couldn't secure the game at the free throw line, as they fell, 59-57, to the Winthrop Eagles (2-10, 1-2 BSC), Saturday night, inside the Winthrop Coliseum.

Reggie Middleton broke a scoreless tie at 18:42 when his jumper from the elbow took three caroms off the cylinder before dropping in, giving the Eagles an early 2-0 lead.

The Flames the rattled off an 8-2 run, taking the four-point lead, 8-4, courtesy of three Seth Curry free throws at 15:39. Winthrop came roaring back, tying the game at 12 apiece, netting eight of the game's next 12 points. A George Valentine putback at 10:15 capped the streak.

Liberty rode back-to-back-to-back three-pointers, one by Curry and two by Anthony Smith to take the 21-17 lead. Smith's second in a row capped the 9-4 run at 7:25.

Two Kyle Ohman buckets, his second at 3:19, moved Liberty up by six points, 25-19. Winthrop closed out the half on a tear, scoring the final seven-straight points, taking a one-point advantage into the intermission, 26-25. Valentine ended the first half's scoring with a bucket in the paint with 59.3 seconds left.

During the opening 20 minutes of play, Liberty shot 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from the floor, including 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from three-point range. Winthrop found a bit more success from the field by shooting 42.3 percent (11-of-26), but also struggled from behind the arc by hitting on 2-of-7 attempts (28.6 percent).

Middleton started things in the second half like he did the first, scoring eight-straight points to give Winthrop a nine-point lead, 34-25. Middleton capped his streak with a three-pointer at 17:40.

Back-to-back treys by Byron Faison extended the Winthrop lead to 12 points, 44-32. But Liberty would storm back, taking a one-point lead, 49-48, via a 16-5 run. Two free throws by Jesse Sanders capped the run at 7:22.

There would be no scoring by either team until the 4:30 mark, a span of nearly three minutes. A Faison jumper broke the scoreless stretch, pushing Winthrop ahead once again, 50-49. A Cameron Stanley three-pointer at 3:24 pushed the Eagles ahead four points, 55-51.

A bucket by Smith and a Kyle Ohman jumper off the glass at 2:13, tied the game, 55-55. But, Stanley scored again, this time in the paint at 1:10, giving Winthrop a two point advantage, 57-55.

Tyler Baker was fouled with 46 seconds left, sending the Albuquerque, N.M., native to the line for two free throws and a chance to tie the game. Baker missed the second free throw, leaving Liberty with a one-point deficit, 57-56.

Middleton turned the ball over with 26 seconds remaining, giving the Flames an opportunity to take the lead. Curry missed a runner in the lane with 10 seconds left and fouled Charles Corbin when the Winthrop forward came down with the board.

Corbin missed the second attempt from the one-in-one opportunity. On transition, Faison grabbed Smith on his shot attempt from the wing with 1.1 seconds left. Smith made the first free throw attempt, once again cutting the lead to one point, 58-57. Smith's final attempt rimmed out and into the waiting hands of Corbin.

Baker fouled Corbin with 1.0 seconds left. Corbin once again made the first end of the one-in-one attempt, but missing the second. Ohman tried to heave the rebound, but the attempt fell harmlessly, ending a 10-game losing streak for Winthrop.

The Flames finished the game connecting on 40.8 percent (20-of-49) of their shots from the floor, including 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from three-point range.

Smith led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Curry tallied 18 makers, while Brolin Floyd pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Winthrop finished the contest hitting 42.3 percent (22-of-52), including 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from three-point range.

Faison tallied a team-high 16 points, while Corbin added 12 points in the winning cause.

Liberty returns to action on Monday when they travel to Presbyterian. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., in Clinton, S.C.

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Flames Suffer Tough Setback at Winthrop

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Team Stats

Anthony Smith

Seth Curry

Kyle Ohman

Jesse Sanders