LYNCHBURG, Va. – Charleston Southern jumped out to a 22-6 lead and answered a Liberty run with a strong second half to register a 68-61 win at the Vines Center on Saturday.

CSU (3-5, 1-1 Big South) knocked down its first five three-pointers and six of seven overall to sprint out to a 16-point cushion by the 12:19 mark of the opening stanza. Liberty (3-6, 0-2 Big South) ripped off an 18-0 run to take the lead late in the first half, though, and trailed by just one at halftime. The Bucs then responded with a 10-1 spurt to start the second half and led by double digits for most of the duration to even their Big South mark.

"We came out red hot and that was a start we needed after a tough loss Wednesday," CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh said. "We played well for stretches but remain a work in progress. We're learning how to win, and it's certainly good to do that with a win."

Armel Potter tallied 18 points for the fourth straight game to pace CSU. Patrick Wallace got the Bucs going with four early threes and finished with 14 points. Rae Robinson added four treys of his own and finished with 12, while Demetrius Pollard chipped in ten points and three assists.

CSU took 40 threes in its one-point defeat to Winthrop on Wednesday, and fired and hit from everywhere at the outset against Liberty. Wallace drained three triples, and Robinson and Potter connected on one apiece in the opening 4:33 to stake CSU to a 17-6 lead. The margin swelled to 22-6 following another Wallace three and a Pollard lay-in.

The Bucs were still in front by 16 with 7:41 left in the opening half after a Pollard three, but were held off the scoreboard for the ensuing 7:07 as Liberty rallied to surge ahead. A.C. Reid led the Flames with 20 points, and recorded the first eight points of that run to give Liberty life. Evan Maxwell punctuated the extended juncture with a dunk to give the Flames the lead, before Potter nailed a three to give the Bucs the 31-30 halftime edge.

CSU held Liberty without a field goal for the first five minutes of the second half to take the momentum back. Potter hit a pair of jumpers over that stretch as CSU nudged its lead back out to ten. Liberty never came closer than five the rest of the way.

Pollard had a run of five timely points to help put the Flames away. He drilled a three to up the lead to 56-47 at the 4:15 mark, and added a jumper to reinstate a double digit advantage just 45 seconds later.

Rae Robinson's fourth and final three gave CSU a 63-51 lead with 1:58 left, and the Bucs led by as much as 13 before Liberty narrowed the final margin.

CSU takes a week off from game action for final exams, before returning to the Buc Dome to host Rider on Saturday, Dec. 12. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.