Senior Rico Overall hit a 25-footer with one second remaining on the clock to give the Lee men's basketball team a thrilling 77-75 victory over host Palm Beach Atlantic University in the opening round of the Joe McCormick Classic.
The Flames (3-1) trailed at the half-way point 34-32 but got out of the gate quickly in the second 20 minutes to claim a 12-point lead. The Sailfish turned up the heat in the last part of the second half and held 75-74 lead until Overall sank the winning 3-pointer.
"We played well to open the second half," said Lee coach Bubba Smith.
"After we built the lead, Palm Beach began to run, jump and trap us all over the court. In the closing seconds we set up a play that was to go to Keevin (Tyus). When that broke down, the ball came outside to Rico and he responded with the winner."
The first-year coach said he was proud of the way his team battled. "Levi (Woods), Cody (Jones) and Isaac (Merian) hit some key shots down the stretch. This was an important (South) region win and we will take this game and continue to learn from it."
The balanced Lee attack was paced by 15 points from Jones, who nailed 5-of-9 3-point attempts. Overall made 4-of-6 treys and tallied 14 points, while Tyus was 6-of-12 from the field and also had 14 points to go along with the team-leading eight rebounds.
Coach Smith also praised the work of senior Cody Farley, who posted nine points, four rebounds and five assists. Ten Flames played and all 10 scored. For the game, Lee shot 48 percent from the field and 50 percent in the second half. The Flames converted 13-of-28 shots from behind the arc (46 percent) but converted just 6-of-12 free throws.
Again, all 10 Lee players pulled down at least one rebound as the Flames beat the Sailfish on the glass 35-33. Turnover late in the contest resulted in 20 floor mistakes, while Palm Beach (3-2) turned the basketball over 15 times.
The Sailfish shot 49 percent from the field but converted only 4-of-15 treys. They went to the line eight times and made seven. Bakari Warthen paced all scorers with 20 points and Malek Barber followed with 15. Lucas Morales had eight boards in the loss.
Lee will return to Classic action on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. and will face Lynn University (Boca Raton, Fla.). Lynn lost to Valdosta State in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.