Coastal Carolina University
1-3 , 0-0
Liberty
3-1 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 10 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 34 |
| Coastal Carolina | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Coastal's Halftime Leads Slips Away Against Liberty
9/25/2026 12:06:00 AM | Football
Deuce Bailey threw touchdown passes to Colton Hinton and Tristian Gardner in the second quarter to give Coastal (1-3) the lead at the break. Liberty (3-1) tied the game on its opening possession of the second half and moved ahead on a field goal later in the third quarter.
Bailey found Hinton for a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10 with 5:26 left in the first half. Coastal then drove 80 yards in the final 1:08 of the half, with Bailey connecting with Gardner on a 39-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds remaining.
Liberty answered with a 77-yard drive to open the third quarter. Deshawn Purdie's 33-yard touchdown pass to Makai Jackson tied the game at 17, and Chase Reeves' 24-yard field goal put the Flames ahead 20-17 with 4:52 left in the period. Ethan Vasko added an 8-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kam Davis with 1:02 remaining.
Bailey completed 17 of 34 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Gardner led the Chanticleers with four catches for 86 yards, while Marcellius Pulliam had a team-high 12 tackles. Ibrahim Diawara recorded two sacks, and Se'Von McDowell recovered two fumbles.
Liberty finished with 485 yards of offense, including 263 rushing yards. Davis ran for 166 yards, and Jackson caught five passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Coastal opens Sun Belt Conference play against Georgia Southern on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. at Brooks Stadium.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
LIB 3, CCU 0
LIB - Reeves,Chase 29 yd field goal 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 03:17
LIB 3, CCU 3
CCU - Cavanillas Alti,Nico 41 yd field goal 13 plays, 52 yards, TOP 04:24
LIB 10, CCU 3
LIB - Jackson,Makai 58 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn (Reeves,Chase kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:06
LIB 10, CCU 10
CCU - Hinton,Colton 24 yd pass from Bailey,Deuce (Cavanillas Alti,Nico kick) 9 plays, 73 yards, TOP 04:03
LIB 10, CCU 17
CCU - Gardner,Tristian 39 yd pass from Bailey,Deuce (Cavanillas Alti,Nico kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:08
LIB 17, CCU 17
LIB - Jackson,Makai 33 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn (Reeves,Chase kick) 4 plays, 77 yards, TOP 01:44
LIB 20, CCU 17
LIB - Reeves,Chase 24 yd field goal 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 05:56
LIB 27, CCU 17
LIB - Vasko,Ethan 8 yd run (Reeves,Chase kick), 8 plays, 45 yards, TOP 04:51
LIB 34, CCU 17
LIB - Davis,Kam 6 yd pass from Vasko,Ethan (Black,Tyler kick) 3 plays, 20 yards, TOP 00:57
