JACKSONVILLE—Liberty scored more points in the second half against Jax State on Saturday than anyone else this season to come away with a win over the Gamecocks.
 
The first-place Flames outscored Jax State 54-44, making their first seven shots of the second half to come away with an 81-78 win.
 
Jax State led for 32:28 of the contest and by as many as nine with 18:29 to play in the contest.
 
"We took some tough shots in the second half," said coach Ray Harper. "(Liberty) got in the paint too much, got to the rim, and that was the difference in the game."
 
Liberty (24-5, 16-2 CUSA) used a 10-0 run spanning 3:04 to take a 73-65 lead which was highlighted by a Kaden Metheny 3-pointer from the right corner with 2:34 to go and three on the shot clock to give his team an eight-point lead.
 
Metheny led all scorers with 24 points, going 6-of-11 from 3-point land.
 
Jax State (14-15, 9-9 CUSA) was down eight with nine seconds left, but cut it to five on a 3-pointer by Jacoby Hill, then an offensive foul on the inbound gave the Gamecocks the ball back and Mostapha El Moutaouakkil converted a layup to close the contest.
 
El Moutaouakkil led Jax State with 21 points and six rebounds. Hill was 6-of-7 from the field and finished with 16 points.
 
After falling behind 17-16 with 11:26 left in the first, Jax State went on a 10-0 run, getting five stops on defense to take a nine-point lead with 7:24 left on a 3-pointer by Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. He along with Emondrek Erkins-Ford were also in double figures with 10 points each. Fitzgerald also converted a layup with 57 seconds left in the first to give Jax State a 34-27 lead at the intermission.
 
Jamar Franklin was the fifth Jax State player in double figures with 11, going 3-of-6 from 3-point range, connecting on two 3-pointers on two of his team's first three possessions of the second half.
 
The Gamecocks will head west for their final two regular season games, starting with New Mexico State on Thursday at 8 p.m. Central Time.