LYNCHBURG, Va. – Charleston Southern used a 13-0 first half run to take the lead for good, and withstood several Liberty rallies to open the second half of its Big South slate with a 74-62 win at the Vines Center on Saturday night.

CSU (13-8, 7-3 Big South) sits in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings, a game behind High Point for first. Senior Saah Nimley scored a game-high 18 points, and knocked down 10-of-12 free-throw attempts to help the Bucs pull away late. CSU converted 22-of-24 tries at the line as a team in picking up its second straight road victory.

Liberty (6-17, 0-10 Big South) trailed by only four points at halftime and drew within two five times early in the second half but could never take the lead. Senior forward Andrew Smith paced the Flames with 14 points, while David Andoh added 12.

CSU made only 6-of-27 from three-point range, but connected on three treys during the 13-0 run that swung the game. Will Saunders hit one, and freshman Danny Upchurch gave the Bucs a lift off the bench with two straight triples for a 17-7 lead at the 12:10 mark of the opening half.

Saunders added two clutch threes in the second half, finishing with 13 points. Arlon Harper tallied 14 and Cedrick Bowen recorded 12 to round out another solid effort by the Bucs' seniors.

CSU forced 17 Liberty turnovers, converting those miscues into a 21-7 advantage in points.

"We did what we had to do to win the game, and it was one we needed," CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh said. "Liberty came in with a good game plan and contested a lot of our shots. It wasn't easy but we got a lead in the first half and were able to get a win on the road so we'll take it and move our focus to a really good Winthrop team Monday night."

Liberty held CSU scoreless for the final 3:55 of the first half to go into intermission behind 35-31, and whittled the Bucs' advantage down to two five different times early in the second half. Saunders buried one of his three threes to give CSU a 47-42 lead with 14:05 left, though, and Liberty would get no closer than that the rest of the way.

The Bucs made five of six field goals midway through the second stanza to keep the Flames at bay, with dunks by Bowen and Aaron Wheeler highlighting the surge. Liberty closed the gap to 59-53 at the 8:09 mark courtesy of Andoh's personal 6-0 run, but Saunders drained another timely three to up the CSU lead to nine.

Theo Johnson gave Liberty its last legitimate shot with a deep three to cut CSU's lead to 66-59. Bowen scored off a dish from Wheeler, however, and Harper dropped in a pull-up jumper in the lane to give the Bucs' an 11-point advantage with just 2:04 left.

CSU's triumph secured a season sweep of Liberty for the first time since 2005-06. The victory also allowed CSU to eclipse its Big South win total from a year ago.

CSU continues a three-game road swing on Monday at Winthrop. Tipoff at Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C., is set for 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network (ASN), available on channel WTAT-2 in the Charleston area.