Liberty pulls out title win Hammond-led Flames capture NCAA tourney bid HIGH POINT, N.C. - Rachel Hammond scored 13 points, and Liberty needed a late defensive stop to extend its dominance of the Big South Conference, beating scrappy Gardner-Webb 51-50 in the title game yesterday to claim its 12th NCAA tournament berth in the past 13 years.

RADFORD—Kenny Thomas closed his eyes Friday night, but he never fell asleep. He got up to get a drink, went back to bed, but no luck. All night, the possibilities for yesterday’s Big South championship game raced through his mind. Thomas, a Highland Springs High graduate, was sick of sitting around every March, watching the NCAA tournament, wondering how it would feel if he and his Radford teammates were on that television screen, trying to slay one of college basketball’s giants. “Why not us?“ he’d ask himself.

RADFORD—The Virginia Military Institute Keydets are one win away from their first NCAA tournament berth since 1977 after a 78-58 victory over the Liberty Flames tonight in a Big South tournament semifinal game tonight at Radford’s Dedmon Center. The Keydets held Liberty’s best player, Seth Curry, scoreless after halftime as they pulled away. They play Radford or North Carolina-Asheville in Saturday’s 4 p.m. final.

Guard Seth Curry scored 30 points and Liberty turned back Gardner-Webb 88-77 last night in the first round of the Big South tournament in Lynchburg. Liberty (22-10) took control early as it ran out to a 22-4 lead on a 3-pointer by Kyle Ohman with 13 minutes left in the first half. The Flames led 37-14 on Anthony Smith’s free throw with 6:30 remaining in the first half.

They also came to witness what the Keydets faithful believe might be the next great VMI basketball team. The crowd, the first sellout in Cameron Hall’s 28-year history, was introduced to the players from VMI’s 1975-76 and 1977-78 teams at halftime. Those squads were a combined 48-10, with NCAA final eight and Sweet 16 appearances between them.

The Longwood University of today is not your mother’s Longwood College of yesterday. Today’s Longwood University is a bustling college community on a campus that Longwood College graduates of 20 years ago would not recognize.

Jennings was voted the league’s offensive player of the year and Rocco the coach of the year after Liberty went 5-0 in conference games, yet missed out on an at-large berth for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Gardner-Webb linebacker Jeffrey Williams was named the Big South defensive player of the year. Stony Brook running back Edwin Gowins was voted the top freshman, and VMI’s Jacob Rochester earned scholar-athlete of the year honors.