Evan Gordon scored 21 points to lead Liberty to a 69-53 victory in the Big South Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night. The Flames (4-5) shot 50 percent from the field (11-for-22) in the second half and held off a late charge from Charleston Southern (4-3), which trailed 52-48 on Jamarco Warren's free throw with 7:12 left in the game. However, Liberty went on an 8-1 run that was capped by Gordon's three-point play for a 60-49 advantage with 5:34 left. The Flames went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 2:12. Kyle Ohman added 16 points and David Minaya scored 14 points for Liberty, which won despite committing 14 turnovers. Warren led Charleston Southern with 17 points and Jeremy Sexton added 10 for the Buccaneers, who were 9-for-39 from the field (23.1 percent) in the first half and shot 26.6 percent (17-for-64) for the game.
