HUNTSVILLE—Jax State couldn't keep pace with 12 3-pointers made by Liberty in the Conference USA Championship game.
  
The top-seeded Flames were successful on 60% of their field goals and were 60% from 3-point range in a 79-67 win over the Gamecocks to win the league's championship game Saturday night.
 
"Sometimes, you just got tip your hat," said coach Ray Harper. "(Coach) Richie (McKay), does an incredible job, and those guys, any mistakes you made on the defensive end, if you had a slight mishap tonight, they made you pay. They shared the ball and they made shots."
  
Second-seeded Jax State (22-12) scored the first five points of the game after Liberty (28-6) missed its first four shots of the night following an hour delay to the start of the game due to a roof lead at Propst Arena.
  
The lead went to eight on a Jaron Pierre Jr. layup following an extended possession thanks to an offensive rebound, but Liberty was able to answer with a long 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to make it 12-7 at the 14:25 mark.
  
Pierre led the team with 19 points, going 6-of-7 at the free throw line.
  
A 7-0 run by the Flames tied the game with 11:14 left as the Gamecocks went scoreless for nearly three minutes.
  
Following the rough start for the Flames, they made 10 of their next 12 shots. This helped spark a 13-0 run and saw Liberty go up 29-18 and force a Jax State timeout at the 7:23 mark. 
  
A left wing 3-pointer by Pierre got the Gamecocks back within single digits at 32-24 at the 5:32 mark. Another three by Michael Houge made it a five-point game with 3:53 left until Kaden Metheny answered with his third 3-pointer of the half on a wild shot from the left wing on the next possession with the shot clock expiring.
  
Metheny led all scorers with 21 points, going 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
  
The Gamecocks held Liberty scoreless the final 2:20 of the half and trailed 37-33 at the intermission.
  
Liberty started the second half the opposite way they started the first, connecting on their first seven shots and used a 6-0 run to take a 53-41 lead at the 14:40 mark of the half. The Gamecocks went nearly 5:00 without a basket and saw the lead get to as many as 20 at the 7:24 mark.
  
A 3-pointer by Marcellus Brigham Jr. got the Gamecocks within 13 at 65-52 with 5:04 to play to during a 7-0 run which held Liberty scoreless for 2:00. A pair of free throws by Pierre at the 3:01 mark were his first points of the second half and got the team within 12 but a 3-pointer by Colin Porter pushed the Flames to a 15-point lead with just under 2:30 to play.
  
Brigham finished with 12 points, going 4-of-7 from the field and was 3-of-4 from 3-point land. Quel'Ron House added 11 points and five rebounds despite being limited to just 12 minutes in the second half.
 
Both Pierre and House were named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team following their performances across the three games.
  
Jax State finished the game 13-of-25 at the free throw line, going just 9-20 in the second half.