Buccaneers Hold Flames To Conference Season-Low Shooting In 61-45 Victory

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Flames were held to a conference season-low 29.4 percent shooting from the field, while the Buccaneers were able to overcome a slow first half of their own en route to a 61-45 victory over Liberty, Saturday evening, at the Vines Center.

With the victory, Charleston Southern ups its record to 5-7 in Big South action (10-13 overall), while the loss drops Liberty to 2-9 in league play (5-18 overall).

In the first half, both teams were about as cold from the field as the wintry weather the blanketed the Central Virginia for the better part of the day as both Liberty and Charleston Southern finished the first half shooting 31.8 percent with both teams connected on 7-of-22 field goal attempts.

The largest lead of the first 17 minutes of the opening half came three minutes in as a three-pointer by Larry Blair (Jr., G, Charlotte, N.C.) gave Liberty a 5-0 lead at the 16:47 mark. However, Liberty's leading scorer, who entered the game averaging 22.5 points per game, was held to just one more point over the rest of the first half.

The Buccaneers quickly answered back as Dwayne Jackson knocked down a trey on the next possession, while Jackson got a lay-up at the 15:58 mark to knot the score at 5-5. The game remained close over the rest of the period as neither team held more than a five-point lead. Anthony Smith (Fr., G, Plano, Texas) converted on 1-of-2 free throw attempts at the 5:53 mark to tie the game at 14-14, while Russell Monroe (So., F, Alma, Mich.) pulled down an offensive rebound and stuck it back for two to give the Flames a two-point edge, 16-14.

But Charleston Southern held the Flames to just one more field goal over the final five minutes of the period, while a jumper by Chris Moore with 1:11 left play gave the visitors a 23- 18 lead at the break.

The Buccaneers started to find their shooting touch in the opening minutes of the second half as a jumper by Jackson at the 15:10 mark capped off an 8-3 run to start the period, while the Flames continued to struggle as Liberty converted on just one of its first eight attempts from the field to open the period.

A three-pointer by Evan Risher (So., G, Fort Worth, Texas) cut Charleston Southern's lead back to seven points, 31-24, with 14:49 left to play. However, the Buccaneers outscored the Flames, 14-4, over the next seven minutes of play, taking a 17-point lead, 47-30, on a pair of free throws by Chris Moore with 7:43 left in the game.

Liberty made one last run at the Buccaneers as a jumper by Blair at the 3:46 mark capped a 10-1 run for the Flames, but Charleston Southern's defense clamped down again and held Liberty without a field goal over the remainder of the game to seal the road victory..

Charleston Southern was led by Moore as he netted a game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Jackson added 10 points, while Thomas Harrison came off the bench to score eight points and pull down a team-best seven boards.

Blair still led the Flames with 12 points despite shooting just 5-of-23 from the field, while Smith and Damien Hubbard (Jr., G/F, Boyce, Va.) followed with nine points each in the Flames' fewest points scored in a home game since a 46-45 overtime victory over Tusculum on December 14, 2001.

Liberty will conclude a four-game home stand on Monday with a non-conference game against Longwood in the Vines Center at 7 p.m., while the Buccaneers traveled to Radford on Monday to face the Highlanders in Big South action at 7 p.m.

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Buccaneers Hold Flames To Conference Season-Low Shooting In 61-45 Victory

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Team Stats

Larry Blair

Anthony Smith

Damien Hubbard

Russell Monroe

Players Mentioned

Larry Blair

Damien Hubbard

Russell Monroe

Evan Risher

Anthony Smith