LYNCHBURG, Va. - Charleston Southern dropped their first Big South contest of the year, falling 69-53 vs. the Liberty Flames, Thursday at the Vines Center. The Bucs suffered from a 26% shooting effort from the field along with a 23% mark from behind the arc. CSU did control the rebounding margin 46-39, but the Flames committed just six turnovers and shot 43% as a team. CSU dropped to 4-3 on the season with a 0-1 mark in the conference, while Liberty improved to 4-5 and 1-0 in league play.

Jamarco Warren led the way with 17 points, including three threes, six rebounds and two assists. Freshman Jeremy Sexton was the only other CSU player to reach double figures, recording 10 points, two assists and two steals. The Bucs also got five points and six boards from Billy Blackmon off the bench. The Flames had three in double figures, led by Evan Gordon with 21 points on 6-10 shooting.

The Bucs worked hard for the first basket of the game, with a pair of offensive rebounds that led to a Quinton Goods finish. Warren extended the lead to five, when he nailed his first three of the night, just 1:22 into the game.

Liberty didn't take long to erase the lead, scoring nine unanswered over the next three minutes, to go up 9-5. A game of runs continued, as CSU took back the lead 12-9 on a Tom Tankelewicz layup, at the 13:56 mark.

The Flames used the next several minutes to establish a 29-16 advantage with 4:16 on the clock, their biggest lead of the half. CSU however, responded with an 11-0 run before a single Liberty free throw made the score 30-27 at the intermission.

It was the Flames who got out to a quick start in the beginning of the second half, scoring the first two baskets to go up eight. Sexton managed a layup from there, but it was Liberty who continued to roll, going up by as many as 12 at 42-30, five minutes into the frame.

The Bucs continued to chip away at the lead, narrowing the margin to six, thanks to a Kenny Mitchell dunk that made it 46-40 at the 11:24 mark. CSU then got as close as four on a Warren free throw, bringing to score to 52-48 with 7:12 remaining in the game.

That would be as close as the Bucs would get however, with the Flames playing comfortably from ahead. A quick 8-1 burst allowed Liberty to take a 60-49 advantage. The Flames never led by less then eight from there and hit some free throws down the stretch for a final 69-53 score.

CSU will try to bounce back with a quick turnaround, staying on the road to face the VMI Keydets on December 5, at 1 p.m.