McKay Notches 200th Career Victory in LU Win

Liberty Head Coach Ritchie McKay tallied his 200th career head coaching victory as Seth Curry, Kyle Ohman and Anthony Smith all reached the 20 point plateau, helping the Flames (19-8, 10-5 BSC) topple the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (7-17, 2-11 BSC), Saturday night, 95-80, inside the CSU Field House.

McKay reached the 200 career win mark in his 13th season as a head coach. All of McKay's victories have come at the Division I level and in five different conferences (Big Sky, Big South, Mountain West, Pac-10 and WAC).

Back-to-back three-point buckets by Charleston Southern gave the Buccaneers an early 6-0 lead. Jamarco Warren started things with his trey at 19:00, followed by an Austin Johnson three-point field goal 20 seconds later.

Seven straight points by Curry and a three-point bucket by Smith at 15:51 capped a 10-2 Liberty run, staking the Flames to a two point advantage, 10-8. A Johnny Stephene trey at 12:48 extended the Liberty advantage to four points, 19-15.

A heavily contested Curry runner at 9:16 widened Liberty's lead to seven points, 26-19, helping the Flames net seven of the game's next 11 points. Charleston Southern cut its deficit to four points, 34-30, after an 11-8 jaunt, which included four points by Omar Carter, with the sophomore's layup at 3:13 capping the run.

Riding an Anthony Smith three-point bucket and a layup, Liberty quickly had its seven point lead back, 39-32, when the senior tallied a transition bucket at the 2:24 mark. Tyler Baker's old-fashioned three-point play, along with Curry tallying four of his 19 first half points, Liberty extended its lead into double digits, 46-36, with 19 seconds left in the opening stanza.

Tovi Bailey was fouled on a field goal attempt with 4.2 seconds remaining, sending the Buccaneers to the line to shot two from the charity stripe. The sophomore nailed both attempts, sending Charleston Southern into the intermission trailing by eight points, 46-38.

Liberty was efficient from the field in the first half, hitting on 58.1 percent (18-of-31) of its attempts, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arch.

Charleston Southern hit at a 45.5 percent (15-of-33) clip, including 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from three-point land.

The Flames opened up the second stanza, extending their advantage to 11 points, 55-44, after Ohman's four-point play. Ohman was fouled while draining a three-pointer, followed by a free throw at 17:14 to give the visitors four additional points.

Then the fireworks started. Charleston Southern scored 11 straight points, tying the game, 55-55, at the 14:58 mark. Carter and Warren both hit three treys during the 11-0 run. Warren's second capped the surge which tied the contest.

Not to be outdone, Liberty reeled off a 12-2 run, regaining a double-figure lead, 67-57. The Flames did all their damage from three-point land, with Smith hitting two treys with an Ohman trifecta inserted in the middle. Curry's three-point bucket at 13:00 capped the run.

Quinton Goods hit a jumper in the paint at 10:15 to cut the Charleston Southern deficit to six points, 69-63. Liberty retaliated with an 8-1 spurt, extending its advantage back to double figures, 77-64. sJesse Sanders free throw at 8:05 capped the run.

Charleston Southern would storm right back, cuttings its deficit back to six points, 78-72, after a Carter layup at 6:46, finishing off a Buccaneers' 8-1 sprint. But that would be as close as Charleston Southern would get the remainder of the game, as Liberty's advantage opened up to 11, 85-74, via a 7-2 run, capped by a Curry bucket at 4:39.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Ohman and Smith extended Liberty's lead to a game-high 18 points, 94-76. Smith finished off the 9-2 run with his trey at 1:21. The Flames would hold on over the final 1:21 for the 15 point victory, 95-80.

Liberty, the Big South Conference's best field goal percentage shooting team, continued its efficiency, hitting at a 56.4 percent (31-of-55) clip, its first game over the 50 percent mark since Jan. 17 at VMI. For the second straight game Liberty hit over 50 percent from three-point land, connecting on 53.6 percent (15-of-28) of its long-range attempts.

For the second time this season, Liberty had three players tally at least 20 points. Curry led all scorers with 28 points, while dishing out five assists. Smith poured in 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while Ohman rounded out the 20-point trio with 23 markers on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. Ohman tallied 21 of his points in the second half.

Sanders almost tailed a double-double, missing with nine points and a game-high 10 caroms. Sanders also dished out six helpers, giving the freshman point guard 16 assists against no turnovers over Liberty's past two games.

Charleston Southern connected on 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the floor, including 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from three-point range.

Carter collected a double-double with 21 points, while tying Sanders with a game-high 10 rebounds. Warren tallied 15 of his 21 points in the second half. Johnson and JT Knight each chipped in 10 points in the losing effort.

Liberty returns to action on Monday, when the Flames conclude the annual "Beach Trip," at Coastal Carolina. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., inside Kimbel Arena.

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McKay Notches 200th Career Victory in LU Win

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Team Stats

Seth Curry

Anthony Smith

Kyle Ohman

Jesse Sanders