Radford freshman Carlik Jones hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift host Radford to a 55-52 win over Liberty on Sunday for the Big South Conference men’s basketball tournament championship.

Radford improved to 22-12 while the Flames slipped to 20-14. The Highlanders earned the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Jones had 13 points as Radford won its seventh straight.

In the semifinals on Friday night at UNC Asheville, the Flames topped the host Bulldogs, the event’s top-seeded team, 69-64. Radford was a 61-52 semifinal winner over Winthrop.

The Highlanders (21-12), the No. 2 seed, got to host the final as the highest remaining seed. Liberty (20-13) was the No. 5 seed.

2018 Big South Conference
Men’s Basketball Tournament
First Round
Tuesday, Feb. 27
Longwood 68, High Point 55
Charleston Southern 68, Presbyterian 51

Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 1
Kimmel Arena, UNC Asheville
Game 3: No. 2 Radford 59, No. 10 Longwood 53
Game 4: No. 3 Winthrop 72, No. 6 Gardner-Webb 68
Game 5: No. 1 UNC Asheville 71, No. 8 Charleston Southern 66
Game 6: No. 5 Liberty 73, No. 4 Campbell 59

Semifinals
Friday, March 2
Kimmel Arena, UNC Asheville
Game 7: Radford 61, Winthrop 52
Game 8: Liberty 69, UNC Asheville 64

Championship
Sunday, March 4
(at highest remaining seed)
Game 9: Radford 55, Liberty 52