Liberty 87, Charleston Southern 76: John Caleb Sanders scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Flames upset the Buccaneers in the Big South Championship game at Conway, S.C.

Davon Marshall made 6-of-7 from 3-point range and scored 20 points for Liberty (15-20), which shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and used a 10-3 run late in the second half to beat Charleston Southern and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. Tavares Speaks pitched in 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Flames, who are just the second team in NCAA history to make the Big Dance with 20-plus losses.

Liberty won four games en route to its third Big South Championship title, beating Coastal Carolina 78-61 in the first round and North Division champion High Point 61-60 in the quarterfinals before edging Gardner-Webb - which had appeared in nine consecutive conference championship games - 65-62 in the semifinals on Saturday. Saah Nimley led South Division winner Charleston Southern (19-12) with 18 points, Jeremy Sexton scored 17 and Arlon Harper added 14.

Marshall made two 3-pointers as an 8-0 run gave Liberty an 18-12 lead 9:25 into the game before the Flames ultimately took a 35-34 edge into halftime. After a Harper free throw cut Liberty's advantage to 60-54 with 8:31 to go, Marshall and Tomasz Gielo made 3-pointers to push that cushion to 68-54 just 2:58 later.

Charleston Southern got as close as 81-73 on a Sheldon Strickland 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, but Sanders sank four free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the win for Liberty. The Flames' last 16 points in the game came at the foul line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Marshall made 17 of 24 (70.8 percent) 3-pointers in the Big South tournament. ... Liberty started the season 0-8. ... Coppin State won the MEAC Championship with a 16-20 record in 2008