Liberty holds off Gardner-Webb 77-65
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) Ryan Kemrite and Elijah Cuffee had 15 points each and Liberty withstood Gardner-Webb down the stretch for a 77-65 win on Saturday night.
The Flames (16-11, 7-7 Big South) closed the game on an 8-0 run in the final minute - all at the foul line - and led the entire second half, by as many as 14 early in the period. But the Bulldogs (12-15, 7-7) rallied to within one on David Efianayi's layup that made it 59-58 with 6:29 left.
Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz hit a 3 that pushed the lead back to four for Liberty and Jaheam Cornwall cut the deficit to one again. From there, the Bulldogs stayed close until the two minutes.
Kemrite's catch-and-shoot 3-pointer coming off a screen with 1:54 left gave the Flames a 69-63 lead.
Scottie James had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Pacheco-Ortiz scored 13 for Liberty.
Efianayi scored 19, Liam O'Reilly added 17 and Cornwall 15 for Gardner-Webb.
