Thomas leads UNC Asheville over Liberty 76-69

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) Ahmad Thomas scored 27 points and had seven steals - both career-highs - along with nine rebounds, and Dwayne Sutton had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead UNC Asheville over Liberty 76-69 on Saturday.

Thomas made a layup with 3:47 left to give UNC Asheville (10-5, 3-0 Big South) a 10-point lead and its only field goal in the final seven minutes. He finished 13 of 17 from the field and made his lone 3-point attempt.

The Bulldogs led by 20 with less than 10 minutes remaining, but Liberty (3-13, 0-3) used a 24-9 run to pull within five with 1:06 to play. The Flames missed four 3-pointers down the stretch and lost their 12th game in a row after a 2-1 start.

Lovell Cabbil had 16 points for Liberty, while John Dawson added 13 and Ryan Kemrite 11.