LYNCHBURG, Va. ? The Presbyterian College men's basketball team dropped a hard fought decision at Liberty Monday evening by a 68-49 score in a Big South Conference match-up.

The Blue Hose fall to 10-14 on the season and 7-6 in the Big South Conference while the Flames improve to 18-8 on the year and 9-6 in league play.

Leading the way for PC was sophomore Al'Lonzo Coleman, who netted a team-high 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Fellow second-year student-athlete Josh Johnson was the only other player to reach double figures, netting 10 points. Aaron Gibbs came off the bench to amass eight points and a team-best eight rebounds.

Johnson opened the game with a three-point bomb just 22 seconds in, but the Flames quickly answered, going on an 18-2 run that spanned seven the next seven minutes of play.

After Liberty widened the margin to 17 at the 5:54 mark on a Brolin Floyd jumper, the Blue Hose went on a 10-0 spurt over the next 4:54 to cut the lead to seven with a minute to play in the half.

During the run, Bryan Bostic connected for a lay-up off a Johnson miss. Then, off a Brolin miss, Holmes got the ball to a streaking Coleman, who made the easy two-point lay-up, making the score 32-19 in favor of the home team.

After a turnover by Bill Weaver, Coleman found a cutting Gibbs for a lay-up. Gibbs then grabbed a Johnny Stephene missed jumper and eventually made a lay-up off a dish from Johnson, slicing the lead to nine. PC forced Seth Curry into a bad shot that Coleman swatted away with 1:58 to go in the half.

An empty possession by each team preceded a foul by Curry, giving the ball back to the Blue Hose. Johnson made a driving lay-up with a minute to play, making the score 32-25.

Kyle Ohman ended the drought by the home squad, but Travis Sligh was fouled and hit both charity tosses with 15 seconds to go, pulling the visitors within seven at the break.

PC recorded two quick fouls to open the second half, the second of which resulted in Curry hitting both foul shots, pushing the lead to nine. A bucket by Coleman sliced the lead to seven, but PC saw Anthony Smith make a three-pointer to widen the lead to double figures.

A Blue Hose turnover then allowed the Flames to push the lead to 12, 41-29, with 17:35 to go in the half.

Liberty got the lead to 15 points in the early going only to see PC battle back, slowly whittling away the deficit. Coleman hit a pair of free throws, cutting the margin to 12 with 12:29 to play before Holmes canned two charity tosses with 10:02 to go in the game, making the score 46-36. Head coach Gregg Nibert's team defense held strong on the next two possessions, keeping the score the same. Then, Johnson slashed to the basket and connected on an old-fashioned three-point play after being fouled by rookie Jesse Sanders, making the score 46-39.

Curry quickly answered with a three-point shot of his own, pushing the margin to 10. Sligh answered, but Curry then accounted for the next four points as the Flames never looked back in the contest.

For the game, the Blue Hose hit just 17-of-52 shots from the floor, including two-of-15 from behind the arc. PC did manage to stay hot from the foul line, connecting on 12-of-13 in the game. PC had 13 second-chance points to just eight by the home team. Nibert's team also had 30 of its points in the paint while holding the Flames to 22.  

The Blue Hose return to action Saturday when they make the short trek to Rock Hill, S.C., to take on Winthrop in a 2 p.m., contest.