After being tied with Lincoln Memorial University in the opening round of the annual Tusculum Invitational, the Lee men's golf team had to settle for second place after the Railsplitters fired a 290 on Sunday for a 36-hole total of 575 and the Flames carded a 292 and a 577 finish.

Tennessee Wesleyan and host Tusculum tied for third (386), while the Lincoln Memorial B-Team rounded out the top five with an impressive 590 total. A total of 18 teams took part in the 36-hole event.

"It was a bit of a disappointing finish this week," admitted coach John Maupin. "You have to credit LMU though. They came up with the shots needed to win. We now know what we need to work on before the next tournament, so we will make sure we spend plenty of time preparing. The guys played hard. We just didn't execute some shots as well as we would have liked."

The Flames were led by Matt Emery in Sunday's round. After struggling with a 78 during the opening 18, the senior bounced back with a 1-under 70 on Sunday to finish with a 148 total. However, Lee's Hunter Vest and Taylor Davis were the top two scorers over 36-holes at the Link Country Club course. Vest had a 74 on Sunday and Davis totaled a 73 as both carded final totals of 143 and tied for fifth place.

"Technically, Taylor won a scorecard playoff over Hunter for the last spot on the five-men all-tournament team," said Maupin. "But that was only for the trophy presentation, I guess."

Peyton Sliger was solid during both days and his 72-75 gave him a 147. After a 74 on Saturday, Shea Sylvester slipped to a 76 on Sunday and came in at 150.

LUM's Rand Wasson earned the medalist title after winning a playoff from Andrew Hall of Walters State. They both posted two-day totals of 140 but Hall had Sunday's best round with a 68.

The Flames will return to action March 24-25 and travel to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to take part in the Jim Bishop Toyota Classic, hosted by University of North Alabama.

FIRST 18

Heading into the final 18 holes of the Tusculum Invitational, the Lee men's golf team is deadlocked with Lincoln Memorial University in a battle for first place.

Both the Flames and LMU posted 285 totals during the opening 18 holes on Saturday at the Link Hills Country Club.

Senior Hunter Vest set the pace for Lee tallying a 2-under par 69 on the 6,763 yards, par 71 course. He is tied with Rand Wasson of LMU for second place. Taylor Davis was one under at 70 and is tied for fifth place. Peyton Sliger came in with a 72 and is tied for the 14^th spot. Shea Sylvester rounded out the four Lee scores that counted when he carded a 74.

LMU placed two teams in the 18-team field and George Duncan enters Sunday's play as the medalist leader after scoring an impressive 3-under 68.

While the Flames and Railsplitters are fighting it out for the top spot, host Tusculum is six strokes back at 291. Anderson University (SC) is fourth at 298, while three other squads Tennessee Wesleyan, Walters State and the Lincoln Memorial B-Team are all tied for fifth.

"Today was one of those scrappy days," admitted coach John Maupin. "Nothing seemed to come easy for our guys. The wind picked up early in the round and that definitely played a factor. I thought we did a good job of competing all day and sometimes that is what it takes."