Top-seeded Liberty beats NJIT 55-49 in ASUN quarterfinal

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Caleb Homesley scored 14 points, Scottie James added 11 points and 10 rebounds as top-seeded Liberty beat eighth-seeded NJIT 55-49 in an Atlantic Sun Conference tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday night.

The Flames (28-4) will face No. 4 seed Stetson (16-16) in a semifinal on Thursday. Liberty split the series with the Hatters, losing at Stetson 48-43 in January but winning in a rout at home, 77-49 on Feb. 22.

Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz added 13 points for Liberty.

Zach Cooks scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Highlanders (9-21). San Antonio Brinson and Souleymane Diakite had 13 points apiece.

The Flames never trailed after making their first basket and led by double digits for most of the second half. NJIT used a 7-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 50-45 with about a minute left but didn’t get closer.

The Flames’ 22 first-half points marked a season low for the team.