Clicking on all cylinders, the Lee men's basketball team put 110 points on the board and held offensive-minded North Alabama to 97 in a fast-paced Gulf South Conference win on Saturday afternoon in Walker Arena.
Keevin Tyus, who had been held in check over the past two to three games, exploded for 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds to pace the Flames to their fifth conference win of the year. Rico Overall, despite an ankle injury, recorded 23 points and Rantavious Gilbert had his biggest scoring outburst of the season with his second straight double-double, 15 points and 10 rebounds.
He also continued to climb in the blocked-shot standings with six.
Lee had five players reach double-figure scoring. Levi Woods hit three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. He also had five rebounds and three assists. Stephan Burrows rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11. He also had a season-high eight assists.
Coach Tommy Brown was extremely pleased with his team's 22 assists compared to only 12 turnovers. North Alabama also did an excellent job of taking care of the basketball, 17 assists and seven floor mistakes.
The Flames shot a blistering 63 percent from the field (39-of-62) and made 7-of-14 triples. They also went to the free-throw line 27 times and converted 25. In fact, the afternoon turned into a parade to the free-throw line. The Lions were awarded 35 freebies and canned 25. The rebounding battle was almost even, favoring the Flames 38-37.
"We got gutsy performances from both Overall and (Blake) Copeland," said Brown. "They were both playing injured. Our trainer did an excellent job of trying to get them prepared for today's game. We definitely took over the game in the second half. Woods is playing much better and Gilbert played the way we'd like for him to play in every game. I challenged him after their big man took a rebound away from him in the first half and he responded."
Tavaras Tolliver led a well-balanced North Alabama attack. He finished with 21 points. Bilal Richardson followed with 18 points and 10 rebounds before leaving the game with five fouls. John Fletcher added 16 and Jeff Hodge 12. The Lions shot 40 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range.
"Our team just keeps on battling and we will see what happens," pointed out Brown. "We will face two more tough challenges in West Alabama and West Georgia next week. We appreciate the fans turning out to support our guys and they will see more good action next week as we go against two more really strong GSC clubs."
The Lee women's basketball team held off a determined North Alabama squad for a 75-73 victory.
Freshman Haris Price led the Lady Flames with 20 points on a perfect 4 for 4 shooting from the 3-point line in the second half.
Price was joined in double-figures by Erin Walsh with 14 while Christina Johnson added 12 to go along with 15 rebounds. The senior grabbed nine offensive rebounds to help keep possessions alive and leads the team averaging 10.4 per game.
The Lions held a 35-30 lead at the break and limited the Lady Flames to just 39 percent shooting in the first two periods. Lee used a big third quarter, outscoring UNA 26-20, to pull ahead thanks in large part to hitting 6 of 8 3-pointers in the second half.
In the final moments of the game, North Alabama grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw and threw up a game-tying heave from the corner but the shot fell short.
Carrie Cheeks added nine points and seven rebounds before exiting the game in the second half with an apparent ankle injury.
"Credit North Alabama they really out played us today and played with a lot more energy and pride then we did," said head coach Marty Rowe. "We are fortunate to come away with the victory."
North Alabama led for almost 30 minutes of the contest but in the end the Lady Flames held the advantage when it mattered most.
The Lions featured a balance scoring attack with five different players in double-figures. Janae Lyde and Jaclyn Heath paced the effort with 16 points each. Katelyn Nunley and Alexus Patterson added 13 points respectively and KeKe Gunter rounded things out with 10 markers and seven rebounds.
"We look shocked that people play us hard and with that type of pride so we are going to have to get better mentally and get tougher in the next couple of weeks or our March will be short. This team has the potential to do some really good things but obviously today we hit a stall," added Rowe.
Lee dominated on the glass, outrebounding North Alabama by a wide 43-23 margin. Despite the one-sided rebounding numbers, the Lions did hold a 32-26 advantage on points in the paint.
The Lady Flames improve to 16-6 overall and 13-4 in the Gulf South Conference. Lee is currently sitting in second place in the standings. The Lions fall to 4-18 on the season and are 3-14 in league play.
Saturday was the Lee men's and women's basketball teams' annual Hoops 4 Hope contest to benefit the Lee University Developmental Inclusion Classroom (LUDIC).
LUDIC is located on the Lee University Campus and currently serves 21 students from the surrounding area. The mission of LUDIC, led by Dr. Tammy Johnson, is to serve the needs of students with the diagnosis of autism as well as their families. It also offers a unique op¬portunity for Lee University education students to have a hand's on experience on campus.
"We continue to get great support across campus and in the community for this event. The good thing is all the funds stay right here on our campus with Dr. Tammy Johnson and her staff and they are the real heroes," concluded Rowe.
The Lady Flames will look to win four in a row on Thursday as they host West Alabama at 6 p.m.