James leads Liberty to 77-61 win as Flames sweep Winthrop

Feb 2, 2018, 02:50 am

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Scottie James had 21 points and Caleb Homesley added 16 as Liberty rolled over Winthrop 77-61 on Thursday night to sweep the Eagles for the season.

Liberty (14-10, 5-6 Big South) beat Winthrop 73-70 earlier in the year, which gave the Flames their first regular season sweep of Winthrop since the 2003-04 season.

James was 9 of 15 from the floor with eight rebounds and three blocks. Homesley drilled 4 of 5 from distance and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz added 14 points with five assists and three steals for Liberty, which has won two consecutive after dropping five straight games.

The Flames never trailed, jumping out to an early lead and holding a 37-26 halftime advantage. They pushed their lead to 58-44 following a Lovell Cabbil 3 at the 10:57 mark.

Xavier Cooks had 21 points and nine rebounds for Winthrop (13-9, 7-4), which had won six straight before facing the Flames.