LYNCHBURG, Va. - 21 points from freshman leading scorer Omar Carter (Charlotte, N.C.) helped the CSU cause, but ultimately was not enough, as the Bucs fell to Liberty 79-63 Saturday at the Vines Center.

The early portion of the first half was largely controlled by the Bucs, with Carters' Shelton (Greensboro, N.C.) and Omar (Charlotte, N.C.), leading the charge. After Omar got CSU going by scoring the team's first five points, Shelton began to carry the scoring load, connecting on two three pointers in the game's first seven minutes to pace CSU to an early 8-4 lead.

The Flames would have an answer for CSU in the form of an extended 20-5 run that saw their lead escalate to 11 at 24-13 at the 9:10 mark. The run was built on the Flames' effectiveness from the perimeter, as four different players on Richie McKay's squad connected on three pointers in the opening 20 minutes. A three-point play by leading scorer Anthony Smith, who tied for the LU lead in scoring in the first half with seven, would eventually cap the run.

The Bucs were not undone by this run and would answer back by slowly cutting into the lead as the half progressed. Utilizing a strong inside attack, which continued to be paced by Omar (10 first half points) and Shelton (8 first half points), and improved perimeter shooting from Omar Carter and Jamarco Warren, the Bucs were able to trim the halftime deficit to just four at 34-30.

The second half would not be as kind to the Bucs almost from the outset, however. The Flames came out of the locker room with the game plan of working the ball to leading scorers Smith and McLean early and often. Both succeded, with McLean (16 points on the night) in particular causing problems for CSU in the half's early moments. When not scoring, McLean and Smith were drawing fouls, as CSU committed no fewer than six fouls in the half's first two minutes.

The fouls would quickly ammount for CSU, as the Flames would head to the line no less than 20 times in the final 20 minutes. LU made the Bucs pay for all these opportunities from the charity stripe, hitting 17 of the 20 free throws (85%) in the second half. McKay's team was paced by T.J. Bannister, who connected on all 12 of his free throws en route to 14 points.

Liberty also continued to receive excellent shooting from Smith, who finished the night eight of 14 from the field and four of eight from three, netting him 22 points Saturday. As a result, the Flame lead grew as large as 21 at 62-41 with 8:49 remaining.

With Warren (5 points Saturday) and Chris Moore (4 points) struggling to find a rhythm, the Bucs would try and work their back to the game on the back of Omar Carter, who contributed 11 second half points to the CSU cause en route to his 21 for the night. Carter was joined solely by Shelton Carter in double figures for CSU, who finished the evening with 13.

For the game, the Bucs were outshot by Liberty 46.2% to 39.7% from the field. The Flames also held a wide advantages in free throws made (22 to nine) and a slight advantage in threes made (nine to eight). CSU also lost a rare battle of the boards, as the Bucs were outrebounded by the Flames 36 to 32 on this night.

Barclay Radebaugh and the Bucs will now turn their attention to their next game, a Monday 7:00 road game against High Point. The Panthers, the pre-season favorites to win the Big South, and Bucs will both enter the game at 1-2 in the Big South.