CHARLESTON, S.C - Liberty's Antwan Burrus buried a 35-foot three-pointer at the final buzzer to hand the Charleston Southern men's basketball team a heartbreaking 75-74 defeat at Buccaneer Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

CSU (14-10, 8-6) put itself in position to win courtesy of a 15-4 run which erased a 68-59 deficit. Kelvin Martin's free throw capped the spurt and gave the Bucs a 74-72 lead, but the Flames rebounded a miss on the second attempt and called timeout to set up the final sequence with 1.9 ticks left on the clock. David Minaya inbounded to Burrus just in front of half court, and the junior forward took one dribble before swishing in the trey to stun a boisterous crowd at the Buc Dome. It was Burrus' first three-point attempt of the season, and only the second of his career.

Burrus finished with 13 points as part of a Liberty (10-16, 5-9) offense which placed three players in double figures and shot 56 percent from the floor. David Minaya led all scorers with 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Jesse Sanders posted another terrific all-around performance for the Flames, as the senior point guard tallied 19 markers, nine assists, and five rebounds in 38 minutes of action.

Martin recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Bucs with his eighth double-double of the campaign. Sophomore Sheldon Strickland provided a big boost off the bench, hitting his first six shots of the night en route to a season-best 17-point outing. Saah Nimley nailed four triples to highlight a 14-point effort, while fellow freshman Paul Gombwer controlled the paint for CSU. Gombwer worked his way to the first double-double of his career, establishing new benchmarks with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Seven of those boards came on the offensive side of the glass as Gombwer continued to show a knack for producing second-chance opportunities, having entered the night 12th in the Big South in that department.

Nimley started CSU's march on the comeback trail with a left-wing three to slice the deficit to 68-62 at the 5:14 mark. The freshman point guard then found Martin for a layup, and sent fans into a frenzy by drilling another trey to whittle the Liberty advantage to one. John Caleb Sanders quelled some of the momentum with a jumper, but Gombwer muscled inside for a deuce to make it 70-69.

Strickland burst into the passing lane for a huge steal on the Flames next possession and raced the other way for a lay-in to push the Bucs in front at 71-70 with 2:02 left. Jesse Sanders hit two free throws to give the edge back to Liberty, but had the front-end of a one-and-one chance rattle in and out to give CSU a chance. Gombwer made the most of it by sinking two clutch free throws to provide a 73-72 CSU lead which set the stage for the theatrics at the horn.

CSU converted only 5-of-23 shots to open the game but then made eight of their final nine attempts of the first stanza to enter halftime with a 34-32 cushion. Strickland was a catalyst during that stretch, three times using his athleticism to drive to the rim for layups. The sophomore guard spurred the Bucs at his first insertion into the contest as well, securing another steal and coasting the other way for a right-hand dunk on the fast break.

A dunk by Martin and one of Nimley's four threes established a 39-32 lead 41 seconds into the second period as the Bucs looked to seize control. The Flames took the upper hand instead by answering back with eight straight points to establish a lead they held until the craziness of the final two minutes.

Minaya was sensational for Liberty during the second stanza, scoring eight straight points and 10 of 12 during one sequence. The 6-6 forward showed a terrific mid-range game, hit a three from the right wing, and went off the glass several times on baseline drives.

Even in defeat, CSU enjoyed advantages in all five specialty statistical categories. The Bucs work in the paint was particularly impressive as they earned a 36-26 positive margin over the Flames. CSU also made the most of 11 Liberty turnovers by converting them into 18 points, compared to just 2 points off their own miscues.

CSU hits the hardwood again on Saturday when they play host to High Point in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the Buc Dome. The Panthers defeated the Bucs to open the month of January, and will come to Charleston fresh off a 70-65 upset of Coastal Carolina on Thursday.