CHARLESTON, S.C. - Wide receiver Nathan Perera had a career-high seven catches for 100 yards and quarterback Richard Mounce also had a career day throwing for 193 yards and two touchdowns as the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (0-7, 0-2) showed their mettle in a 38-16 loss to the Big South's top-ranked Liberty Flames (5-3, 3-0) at Buccaneer Field in Charleston on Saturday afternoon.

Perera caught his first career touchdown as the Bucs put up their second-best offensive numbers of the season with 403 total yards. Malcolm Dixon started the game, going 10-for-17 for 115 yards before leaving the game with an injury. He was replaced by Mounce, who was 14-of-27 with two interceptions.

Kevin Glears had five catches for 44 yards, while Estevan Cintron had three for a total of 48 yards. Glears also picked up 66 yards on three kick returns. Mike Davis had CSU's other touchdown of the day, picking up 43 yards off of four catches. On the ground, Mounce was the leading rusher on the day with 32 yards on nine carries and was followed by Dixon's 14 carriers for 27 yards. The Bucs totaled 95 rushing yards and 308 passing yards for a total of 403 offensive yards on 84 plays.

Charles James led the CSU defense with nine tackles, followed by Chris Kuzdale's six stops. Matt Woods had the lone sack of the day for a loss of four yards, while Will Hunt and Michael Parker each recorded a tackle for loss as well. James also led the team with two of four pass break ups. Andy Brown punted a season-low five times, picking up 195 yards (39.0 avg.) and landing three inside the 20. He also had a 39-yard field goal.

Liberty's Mike Brown, who also left the game with an injury, went 6-for-14 for 89 yards with two touchdowns before giving way to Brian Hudson who was 4-for-9 for 41 yards. Pat Kelly had four catches for 70 yards while Aldreakis Allen had three catches for 47 yards and a touchdown and rushed 16 times for 127 yards. The Flames put up 306 yards of offensive, with 176 on the ground and 130 through the air.

Nick Sigmon had 11 tackles, including three TFL and a sack for a loss of five yards. Walt Aikens had eight tackles and a sack for a loss of nine yards, while Greg Schuster had six stops. KaJuan Lee, Scott Hyland, Desmond Rice and Jeffrey Henderson each had an interception on the day. Mike Larsson punted nine times for a total of 319 yards at 45.6 yards per punt with two inside the 20.

Both teams were scoreless on their first drives, as the Bucs came up with the stop for the second week in a row. CSU showed promise on its second possession of the game, picking up three first downs to make it to the LU 31-yardline. However, the drive came to an end when Dixon was sacked at the Liberty 36 as the Flames took over on downs. The Flames made quick work of the field, picking up a first down on the ground before a 52-yard pass to Kelly put them in the end zone less than a minute later. Matt Bevins kick was good to put the Flames up 7-0 with just under two to go in the first quarter.

The Flames were back at it soon after, starting the drive at their own 21-yardline with after a 41-yard punt by Brown. Allen picked up a first down on a 15-yard rush, and then added in another first down on a 10-yard carry. Brown completed an 8-yard pass to Kelly to keep the chains moving before sending a six yard touchdown pass to Allen, putting the Flames ahead 14-0 with 9:16 to in the first half.

Dixon marched the Bucs down the field, starting with a 36-yard pass to Perera. He then sent an 8-yard pass over to Glears for the first down at the Liberty 19. Dixon picked up three yards on his own before Keelyan Bryant brought the Bucs down to the Liberty 7-yardline. However, the Bucs were unable to capitalize as Dixon threw a red zone interception to Lee that was returned 100-yards to stretch LU's lead to 21-0 with 6:15 to go in the half.

Neither team was productive on their next drive and the Bucs took over on their own 17 after a Liberty punt. Hyland picked off Dixon's first pass of the series, returning it 22-yards for a pick six. The PAT by Bevins put the Flames up 28-0 with just over two minutes to go in the half.

The Bucs picked up the first down on a Liberty penalty to start their next possession but couldn't move the chains again and were forced to punt. The Flames were able to add one more score before the end of the half, marching 92 yards down the field with a 20-yard rush and a 35-yard catch by Allen. Bevins hit a 29-yard field goal as the Bucs went to the locker room down 31-0 at the half.

Kevin Fogg returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown to start the second half by putting the Flames up 38-0 after Bevins' PAT. Glears was then able to return Alex Kacere's kickoff 19 yards to the CSU 28 to start the Bucs' drive. Dixon hit Davis for 10 yards and a first down, but the Bucs couldn't pick up another and were forced to punt. The Flames went three-and-out on their next possession to give the ball back to CSU, who replaced Dixon with Mounce with 10:13 to go in the third quarter.

Mounce picked up 15 yards and the first down himself to lead the Bucs into Liberty territory. He then hit Glears for a 21-yard completion, picking up another first down. B.J. Hackworth and Mounce combined to pick up 14 yards and another first down before Mounce hit Davis for a 12-yard touchdown. Brown's extra point put the score at 38-7 in favor of the Flames with 5:31 to go.

Tyson Pryor successfully executed and recovered an on-side kick at the CSU 47, but his efforts were negated when Fogg picked off Mounce and returned it 36 yards to the CSU 49-yard line. Luckily, the Flames could not come up with anything and were forced to punt.

Starting at their own 6-yardline, Hackworth picked up two yards on the ground before Perera added in 27 yards and two first downs on back-to-back receptions. Hackworth muscled his way in for another three yards before an 8-yard catch by Davis brought up first-and-10 at the CSU 46. Estevan Cintron had had catches of 12- and 16-yards to pick up two more first down and bring the Bucs all the way to the Liberty 24. However the Bucs would settle for a 39-yard field goal by Brown, cutting the deficit to 38-10 with 12:14 to go.

The Flames went three-and-out on their next drive, giving way to the Bucs at their own 40-yard line. CSU was able to pick up 44 yards on ten plays to make it down to the Liberty 7, but three incompletions, as well as a sack on Mounce, allowed the Flames to take over on downs at their own 16.

With just over 90 seconds to go, the Bucs got the ball on their own 24-yardline. Mounce ran for seven then hit Kirby Broome for 51-yards to bring the Bucs to the Liberty 18. A pass interference call on the Flames brought up first-and-goal at the Liberty 5, allowing Mounce to hit Perera for a five-yard touchdown to put the score at 38-16 in favor of the Flames. CSU attempted their second on-side kick of the game, but could not recover and gave way to the Flames. With less than a minute to go, Liberty ran out the clock and took the 38-16 victory home from Charleston.

The Buccaneers will head to Boiling Springs, N.C., on Saturday to take on the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Spangler Stadium.

Coach Mills Postgame Interview

Perera Postgame Interview

Mounce Postgame Interview