Liberty Flames @ UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Liberty upsets UNC Asheville 69-64, faces Radford in finals
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Scottie James grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 14 points, including a go-ahead free throw with 3:34 to play, and fifth-seeded Liberty upset top-seeded UNC-Asheville 69-64 in Friday night's Big South Conference Tournament semifinals.
Lovell Cabbil scored 14 points and made all five of his free throws for the Flames (20-13), who face No. 2 seed Radford in Sunday's championship game.
Liberty rallied from 13 down in the first half and James' free throw amid a 15-0 run tied it at 56. Caleb Homesley hit a 3-pointer in the run and Liberty led 66-56 on Cabbil's free throw with 33 seconds left. The Bulldogs closed to 67-64 on Raekwon Miller's 3, but Cabbill's two free throws iced it and Jonathan Baehre's jumper with three seconds left missed.
The Flames outscored the Bulldogs 28-14 in the paint and held them to 34.6 percent shooting from the field to win 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time.
Miller and Macio Teague scored 19 points apiece and Ahmad Thomas added 11 for the Bulldogs (21-12).
Game Information
Asheville, NC
Referee:Tony Chiazza
Referee:Tim Comer
Referee:Michael Luckie
2025-26 Standings
| Conference USAConference USA | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 17-3 | - | 26-8 |
| Sam Houston | 13-7 | 4 | 22-12 |
| Louisiana Tech | 11-9 | 6 | 20-14 |
| Western Kentucky | 11-9 | 6 | 18-14 |
| Middle Tennessee | 11-9 | 6 | 17-15 |
| Kennesaw State | 10-10 | 7 | 21-14 |
| Jacksonville State | 10-10 | 7 | 15-17 |
| New Mexico State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-16 |
| Missouri State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-18 |
| Florida International | 8-12 | 9 | 15-17 |
| UTEP | 7-13 | 10 | 11-20 |
| Delaware | 6-14 | 11 | 10-21 |
| Big South ConferenceBig South Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Point | 15-1 | - | 31-5 |
| Winthrop | 13-3 | 2 | 23-11 |
| Radford | 9-7 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Longwood | 8-8 | 7 | 16-16 |
| UNC Asheville | 8-8 | 7 | 15-17 |
| Presbyterian | 7-9 | 8 | 15-18 |
| Charleston Southern | 6-10 | 9 | 15-17 |
| South Carolina Upstate | 5-11 | 10 | 13-19 |
| Gardner-Webb | 1-15 | 14 | 4-29 |
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