MT. BERRY, Ga. - Paced by Cameron Fitch (28 points), Berry College's all-time leading scorer, the Vikings defeated the Lee University Flames, 96-77 in a Southern States Athletic Conference basketball contest.

Fitch got plenty of help from his teammates as Berry shot a blistering 62 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. Ben Elliott added 19 points as the Vikings improved to 19-10 overall and 12-7 in the SSAC race. Kirk Feinswog pitched in with 13 points to round out the double-figure scoring.

"Everyone seems to have their best shooting night against us," said Lee coach Rick Hughes after his Flames dropped to 13-14 overall and 8-12 in the SSAC. "Again we played much better basketball in the second half. We cut their lead to seven points on one occasion but we could never get over the hump."

Hughes said he played only six players in the second half because they were the only ones doing what they were told and playing hard. "I don't have to name any names," he pointed out. "They know who they are. We've got three tough games remaining and still have a shot at making the conference tournament. We will go back to work and continue to try and get better."

Junior Rob Giesey enjoyed one of his best shooting nights against the Vikings. He tallied 19 points (five 3-pointers), grabbed five rebounds and contributed three assists. Kwbana Beckles drew praise from the Lee coach after he finished with a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds. Beckles also chipped in with three assists and three steals.

Kierren Lovick countered with 16 points, three assists and two steals, while Nick Losh nailed four 3-pointers and totaled 14 points to go along with his four assists. Michael Banks came off the bench and gave the Flames 16 solid minutes. He finished with five points and four rebounds.

The Flames shot a good 42 percent from the field. "That and 77 points is good enough to win most basketball games," stressed Hughes. "But when you allow a team to shoot 62 percent against you, you are not going to win many games. Unfortunately, that is happening to us much too often."

The Flames will return to action on Tuesday, traveling to Chattanooga for a 7 p.m. meeting with long-time rival Tennessee Temple University.
Berry Hangs On to Defeat Lady Flames

MT. BERRY, Ga. - A determined Berry College team moved closer to claiming a third-seed spot in the upcoming Southern States Athletic Conference tournament by handing the Lee University Lady Flames a 63-60 defeat.

The Lady Flames dug themselves a deep hole early in the second half and could not quite recover against a club they had defeated by 29 points earlier in the season. Berry enjoyed an 18 point margin in the second half before the Lady Flames made a charge.

Coach Marty Rowe's team cut the large lead to only one point late in the game, but could never gain the upper hand. "I don't have an answer for our first half performance," said the deeply disappointed Lee coach after the game. "Our girls knew what was at stake tonight, but we were not ready to play mentally or physically. Berry just simply out-hustled us for all but 12 minutes of the game."

The defeat dropped Lee to 22-9 on the year and 12-7 in SSAC play. Berry improved to 19-9 overall and 12-5 in conference play. While Lee only has Georgia Southwestern remaining on its schedule, Berry must face North Georgia, Reinhardt and Southern Poly in its final three games. Third place is still a long way from being decided.

The Lady Flames shot only 19 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play, but trailed only 23-18. The shooting improved to 54 percent in the second half, but still left Lee three points short of the victory.

The Lady Vikings didn't shoot a great deal better. After making just 8-of-31 field goal attempts in the first half, Berry also shot much better in the second 20 minutes, nailing 54 percent of its field goal attempts.

The Lady Flames got back into the game behind the second-half scoring of Stacey Felchner and Jan Dodson. Felchner had 20 points and seven rebounds. Dodson tallied another double-double making 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Brittany Cook also gave the Lady Flames some excellent minutes and tallied seven points.

The Lady Vikings rode the scoring of guards Britney Wetherington and Mallory Ranfox. Wetherington tallied 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Ranfox added 18 points to the winning margin. Berry's Mickey Duncan dominated the glass. The freshman post-player grabbed 17 key rebounds. Lauren Phillips tallied 13 points for the Lady Vikings.

Berry won the rebounding battle 45-33. The Lady Vikings had 13 offensive rebounds to nine for the Lady Flames. Lee's defense forced 20 Berry turnovers. Lee was guilty of 15 floor mistakes.

The Lady Flames will take a week off before closing out the regular season at Georgia Southwestern one week from Monday night.