Lee University men’s basketball began the Bubba Smith era on Homecoming afternoon in Walker Arena with a 100-73 exhibition victory over Piedmont College.
The contest was deadlocked at 35 at the halftime break and the visiting Lions managed to stay close until the final eight minutes of the second stanza. The Flames began to knock down shots and make stops on the defensive end, much to the delight of the large Homecoming crowd.
“I was anxious to get things going,” admitted Coach Smith.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night .It was a great crowd today and it was good for our players to get things going in the second half and give the crowd something to cheer about.
“At halftime I told the guys it’s a 40 minute game and we just needed to get stops and not worry so much about getting shots in the second half. Thankfully, we were able to hit some shots and that can certainly take some of the pressure off.”
Senior Keevin Tyus led Lee’s scoring with 25 points. He hit 9-of-14 shots from the field and 6-of-8 free throws, plus being the game’s leading rebounder with 10. Five Flames scored in double figures. Jervon Johnson hit five 3-pointers in the first half and finished the contest with 20 points.
Cody Jones, a transfer from Sewanee, made his Lee debut with 13 points, three assists and a couple of steals. Senior Rico Overall and freshman Parker Suedekum had 10 points each. Suedekum was impressive with 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Overall garnered six rebounds.
The Flames shot 64 percent in the second half and finished the game with a solid 54 percent shooting mark. They made 14-of-23 free throws and held their turnovers to 14.
Piedmont also had balanced scoring with five reaching double figures. Justin Vallejo had 13 points, while Peyton Luken, Taylor Mills and Chase Ingram finished with 12 points.
The Flames will begin regular season play Saturday, traveling to Carrollton, Ga. to face Miles College in the West Georgia Classic. The two-day event ends on Sunday against Lane College. Both games are scheduled for 2 p.m.
“We fouled too much today so we need to do a better job guarding the ball especially as we move into the regular season this weekend and into the Gulf South Conference schedule,” concluded coach Smith.