Gordon shines on roadtrip

Flames split away games

Coastal Carolina turned up the heat last Thursday at home, defeating the Flames 77-71.

With the game closely played throughout the first and second half, redshirt junior guard David Minaya put the Flames within five, hitting a 3-pointer with just 23 seconds left. Coastal’s Desmond Holloway hit one free throw of two, giving the Chanticleers the 67-61 lead. Junior guard Jesse Sanders cut the lead to three with another 3-pointer. Holloway sunk two more free throws, but freshman guard John Caleb Sanders answered with the third 3-pointer in 14 seconds. At nine seconds left, Coastal had the slight 69-67 advantage.

After Coastal’s Kierre Greenwood went one-for-two at the free throw line, sophomore guard Evan Gordon attempted one more 3-pointer to send the game into overtime, but the shot landed just to the right of the rim, giving Coastal the 70-67 win.

Gordon led all scorers in points with 17, and John Caleb Sanders finished with a career-high 16 points. Redshirt junior guard John Brown got his eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Coastal Carolina remained undefeated in the Big South Conference, while Liberty fell to 10-2 in the conference.

Liberty traveled to Charleston Southern Saturday and picked up the first win by the away team in the Buccaneer Field House, edging the Bucs 70-69.

The game came down to the last nine seconds of the second half with Liberty up by one. Gordon attempted a 3-pointer, which bounced off the rim into Brown’s hands.
Brown dunked the ball to put Liberty up by three. Charleston Southern’s Jamarco Warren sunk two free throws but could not pull out the win.

Gordon was the high scorer for both teams with 17 points at the end of the night.
Joel Vander Pol, Brown, Minaya and Jesse Sanders all finished with points in the double digits. Brown completed his 12th double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Liberty improved to 11-2 in the conference, and with 11 conference wins, the team surpassed its win total from last season.

Looking ahead, the Flames return home to play Radford Thursday at 7 in the Vines Center. Liberty will also host Iona for the ESPNU BracketBusters on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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