BECKLEY, W. Va. - No. 1 ranked Mountain State University battled back from a 46-39 halftime deficit to outscore Lee 50-28 in the second 20 minutes and post an 89-74 victory.
The Flames were blistering hot in the first half and shot an amazing 67 percent (10-of-15) from behind the arc and led by as much as 11 points (52-31) over the 15-0 Cougars.
However, Lee was as cold as the frigid conditions outside in the second half and made only 3-of-18 (17 percent) 3-pointers and allowed Mountain State to take control of the heated affair in the final five minutes of play.
"They were just tougher than we were in the second half," said Lee coach Tommy Brown who admitted that the final 15-point margin was deceiving.
"We played a little soft in the half and you cannot do that against a talented team like Mountain State. In the first half, I thought we played as well as we could play, but they tightened their defense in the second half and we got a little timid with our shots."
With the Cougars hitting on all cylinders, Lee still managed to tie the game at 63 on a 3-pointer by Jerel Blocker at the 9:17 mark. The Cougars came roaring right back and Marcus Hunter drilled a trey with 8:13 left to put the Cougars up 70-63.
The Lee scoring was paced by Stephen McClellan and Blocker, each tallied 20 points. McClellan was on fire in the first half and finished the contest by making 5-of-12 3-pointers. He was also 5-of-7 from the field. Blocker was 8-of-15 shooting and also grabbed five rebounds.
Rodney Spruill turned in his best effort as a Flame with seven points
and a team-leading 10 rebounds. Larrques Cunningham had eight points and three assists. Point guard Tyler Cutter dished off a game high eight assists to go along with six points and a pair of steals.
Free-throw shooting proved costly for the Flames. They converted just 9-of-19 (47 percent). On the other hand, the home-standing Cougars marched to the line 29 times and canned 20.
Nick Aldridge was a commanding force throughout the game. The senior poured in 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Hunter joined Winston Robinson with 13 points, while Andrew Lee helped the Cougars dominate the glass (48-39) with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Brian Ormon helped Mountain State turn the tide by scoring eight points and grabbing eight boards.
"We defended well in the first half, but missed shots and long rebounds helped them score too many break-away buckets in the second half," noted Brown.
The Flames (10-5) will return to Southern States Athletic Conference action on Thursday and host Faulkner University. On Saturday, Auburn Montgomery comes calling in another crucial SSAC contest.