In a game that resembled more of a track meet than a basketball contest, Carver College jumped out early on the Lee men’s basketball team and never looked back to claim a 76-66 victory inside Walker Arena on Saturday night.
The loss drops the Flames to 1-2 on the young season while the athletic Cougars improve to 5-7 overall.
Carver sprinted out to a 39-27 lead at the break and limited the Flames to just 29 percent (9-of-31) shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The fast-paced Cougars put up 72 shots and connected on 28 (38.9 percent). They hit four of their six treys in the first half but connected on two timely 3-point baskets late in the second half to stifle a Le e comeback attempt.
The Flames did connect on 12-of-30 shots in the second half and ended the contest at 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the field. A usual staple to its offense, Lee managed just two triples on 13 attempts.Chase Cullen paced the scoring effort for Lee with 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Rantavious Gilbert occupied the post and scored 10 points and hauled in seven boards. Keevin Tyus and Jervon Johnson each pitched in nine points. Johnson would also clean up on the glass with eight boards.
“First and foremost give credit to Carver, they made some tough shots and they played really well tonight,” said head coach Tommy Brown.
The Cougars were led by Brannon Hopkins as he put together a 27-point performance to go along with six rebounds. Saveyon Edwards added 19 markers and grabbed six rebounds while Jamil Saaka matched with 19 points.
The Flames faced full-court pressure for much of the contest and turned the ball over 23 times. Carver was guilty of 10 floor mistakes. Lee would have its way in the paint however,outrebounding the Georgia club by a 55-35 margin while holding a 28-18 advantage on points in the paint.
“Right now it’s about us,” lamented Brown. “It doesn’t matter who we play we have got to get better. As a staff we need to find the right rotation and gain some identity as a team moving forward. You can’t turn the ball over 23 times and expect to win.”
The Flames will travel down to Valdosta State and battle Coastal Georgia on Friday at 6 p.m. Lee will tangle with Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the final tune-up before conference play begins on Dec. 3.