Curry fuels Flames’ win in Big South tourney

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.

Ohman scored 18 points, Smith added 16 and Tyler Baker tallied 14 for Liberty, which reached tomorrow's semifinals against VMI.

Gardner-Webb (13-17) was led by Jonathan Moore with 20 points. Joshua Henley added 13 and Grayson Flittner notched 12 for the Bulldogs, who competed in their first Big South tournament after becoming a full-fledged member this season.

Liberty shot 21 of 25 from the foul line (84 percent) compared to Gardner-Webb's 16 of 23 (69.6 percent).

GARDNER-WEBB (13-17)

Henley 6-7 1-2 13, MacMillan 2-6 0-0 4, Flittner 3-8 3-3 12, Hailey 3-7 0-0 7, Linn 0-5 5-6 5, Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Silver 3-7 0-0 7, Siddle 0-5 0-0 0, Blank 1-4 5-6 7, Moore 7-11 2-6 20. Totals 26-63 16-23 77.
LIBERTY (22-10)

Au.Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, An.Smith 6-17 2-3 16, Ohman 5-12 4-5 18, Curry 9-20 9-10 30, Stephene 1-1 0-1 2, Baker 4-4 6-6 14, Floyd 1-2 0-0 2, Sanders 1-1 0-0 2, Weaver 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 21-25 88.

Halftime - Liberty 47-32. 3-point goals - Gardner-Webb 9-26 (Moore 4-6, Flittner 3-7, Hailey 1-3, Silver 1-4, Linn 0-1, Blank 0-1, Siddle 0-4), Liberty 9-23 (Ohman 4-8, Curry 3-8, An. Smith 2-7). Rebounds - Gardner-Webb 36 (MacMillan 10), Liberty 36 (Ohman 9). Assists - Gardner-Webb 16 (Moore 5), Liberty 16 (Curry 6). Total fouls - Gardner-Webb 26, Liberty 21. Fouled out - Blank, Henley, Jackson. A - 2,310.

Radford 82,
High Point 58

Artsiom Parakhouski's 24 points and a second-half spurt helped top-seeded Radford defeat visiting High Point.

Kenny Thomas added 19 points for the Highlanders (19-11), who snapped a six-game tournament losing streak and made the semifinals for the first time since 2003.

The Panthers (9-21), the No. 8 seeds, beat Radford in their previous postseason meetings (2002, 2006 and 2007) and failed to reach the semis for the first time in six years.

High Point closed to 45-37 with 18:05 left, but the Highlanders used a 16-2 run, sparked by eight points by Parakhouski, to lead 61-39 with 11:30 left.

Joey Lynch-Flohr added 12 points for Radford.
HIGH POINT (9-21)

Short 4-10 1-2 9, Daniels 1-1 0-0 2, Barbour 3-13 2-3 8, Harris 4-11 0-0 12, Singleton 5-11 1-2 11, Iati 0-2 0-0 0, Crowder 2-4 1-2 5, Huntington 1-1 0-0 2, Campbell 1-1 0-0 2, Morris 2-8 0-0 5, Appiah 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-63 5-9 58.
RADFORD (19-11)

Martin 0-1 0-0 0, Lynch-Flohr 6-13 0-0 12, Parakhouski 10-15 4-8 24, Johnson 3-6 3-4 10, Thomas 5-14 6-6 19, McEachin 2-4 0-0 5, Wilder 0-1 6-7 6, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Hall 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 29-58 19-25 82.

Halftime - Radford 45-32. 3-point goals - High Point 5-14 (Harris 4-9, Morris 1-1, Iati 0-1, Crowder 0-1, Barbour 0-2), Radford 5-13 (Thomas 3-9, Johnson 1-1, McEachin 1-2, Wilder 0-1). Rebounds - High Point 26 (Daniels 9), Radford 46 (Johnson 11). Assists - High Point 12 (Singleton 6), Radford 20 (Johnson 9). Total fouls - High Point 18, Radford 11. Fouled out - Daniels. A - 1,412. A - 1,412.