NCAA Game Summary - High Point at Liberty

Lynchburg, VA (Basketball News) - Larry Blair poured in a career-high 29 points and Gabe Martin added 19 with 11 rebounds, as Liberty rolled to an 89-44 victory over High Point to capture the Big South Tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Flames (18-14), playing on their home floor as the tournament’s top seed, will make their second NCAA Tournament appearance. They last won the Big South title in 1994, then led top-seeded North Carolina with under 10 minutes left in a first-round NCAA tourney game before losing 71-51.

High Point (19-11), which won only seven games last year, was blown out in the conference tournament title game for the second time in three years. The Panthers suffered a 70-48 setback to Winthrop in 2002.

Jerry Echenique led the Panthers with nine points. High Point made just 1- of-14 three-point tries.

Blair, a freshman, finished 11-of-18 from the field and hit 7-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Liberty scored 12 of the game’s first 14 points and never looked back. The Flames held a 20-7 lead eight minutes into the contest and cruised to a 40-22 advantage at the intermission.

The rout continued in the second half, as Liberty scored the first 12 points to open a 52-22 cushion. Blair scored eight and Martin had the other four during the run.

High Point got only as close as 27 from there.

The Flames opened a 40-point margin, 73-33, with 7 1/2 minutes remaining on a three-pointer by walk-on Brian Woodson, and led by as many as 46.