LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Isaiah Ivey (Georgetown, Ky.) poured in a game- and career-high 32 points to lead four Runnin' Bulldogs in double figures, as Liberty drained 17 three-pointers and converted 17-of-18 at the charity stripe en route to an 86-81 win over Gardner-Webb in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon.

The loss drops Gardner-Webb (15-15, 10-8 Big South Conference) into the bottom half of next week's Big South Conference Tournament bracket, while Liberty (13-18, 10-8 Big South) holds temporary possession of the fifth and final first-round bye – pending the result of the Longwood/Radford matchup later this afternoon. Gardner-Webb can enter the tournament as either the sixth or seventh seed depending on the rest of the day's results.

Liberty's three-point shooters proved to be the story of the day, as the Flames knocked down 17-of-36 (47.2 percent) of their attempts behind the arc and shot 52 percent overall for the game. Gardner-Webb connected on 44.2 percent of its attempts from the floor in the contest – including a 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) clip from downtown – while converting 23-of-31 at the free throw line.

The Runnin' Bulldogs won the battle on the glass by a 32-25 margin, converted 10 offensive boards into 16 second-chance points and received 42 points from their bench. The teams combined for just 30 points in the paint, as Liberty led for nearly 36 of the 40 minutes.

Ivey paced all scorers with 32 points on 8-of-12 shooting, knocking down 5-of-7 from downtown and converting each of his 11 attempts at the free throw line to beat his previous career-high by 11 points. Adonis Burbage (Orlando, Fla.) added 11 points and six boards, as Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) and Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) each chipped in 10 points.

Caleb Homesley led the way for Liberty with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting – including a 5-for-8 effort from long range – as John Dawson and Lovell Cabbil each added 16 points. Ryan Kemrite chipped in 12 points with a 4-for-6 afternoon from behind the three-point line while Dawson and A.C. Reid both dished out a game-high five assists.

Liberty came out firing the first half, knocking down its first four three-pointers and building a 26-10 advantage following a Homesley trey at the 11:21 mark. Gardner-Webb would fight back with a 19-2 surge, cutting the margin to two with a three from Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) before an Ivey bomb gave the Runnin' Bulldogs their first lead of the game, 29-28, with 4:03 left in the opening half.

An 8-6 spurt from Liberty capped the half, as a Kemrite trey broke a 33-33 deadlock before Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) sunk a last-second jumper to trim the margin to 36-35 at the break.

Liberty answered early in the second half, pushing the lead back out to nine when Cabbil dropped in a circus lay-up at the 11:50 mark to give the Flames a 60-51 lead. The Runnin' Bulldogs would keep fighting over the next several minutes, knotting the score at 65-65 on an Ivey trey before the senior nailed a baseline jumper to put Gardner-Webb on top, 67-65, with 6:13 to play.

The Flames quickly countered with an 8-0 run in just over a minute, reclaiming the advantage at 73-67 after Anthony Fields drove to the cup and banked in the layup with 4:41 left on the clock.

Four free throws – two from Ivey and two from McBride – would cut the lead to 73-71 before Cabbil drained his fourth trey of the night, giving Liberty a 76-71 advantage at the 2:38 mark. A three-point play by McBride nullified Cabbil's three moments later, trimming the margin to two at 76-74 with 2:28 on the clock.

Homesley answered for the Flames, scoring five points with two free throws and a three-point play 35 seconds apart to put Liberty ahead, 81-75, with 1:39 to play. He and Ivey traded free throws moments later, as the Flames converted 5-of-6 attempts at the line in the final minute to hold on for the five-point win.

Gardner-Webb now awaits the scores of the afternoon's remaining games, which will determine the Runnin' Bulldogs' opponent in the first round of next week's Big South Tournament. The field will be released later this evening following the conclusion of the regular season.