The Lee University men’s basketball passed its first road test of the season with a 90-78 defeat of Tusculum College. It was the Flames’ second win over the Pioneers in seven days. Lee beat Tusculum 83-67 in Cleveland on Nov. 15.
The Flames (4-0) trailed Tusculum (1-4) 37-36 after the opening 20 minutes before outscoring their hosts 54-41 in the second half to secure the victory. Lee led by 13 points with 9:35 left in the first half. Tusculum chipped away at the lead before taking the lead on a Zach Hartle 3-pointer with four minutes remaining before the break.
Tusculum went ahead by four with 2:31 on the clock before Lee scored the next five points, including a three-ball by Keaton Dotson.
A layup by Jackie Davis at the buzzer gave the home team a one-point lead at the half.
Following a back-and-forth battle in the first two minutes of the second half, the Flames grabbed the lead for good with a 3-pointer by Cody Jones. The visitor’s smallest lead the rest of the way would be two with the largest margin hitting 17 with 2:49 left in the game.
Levi Woods made 6-of-9 shots and was 5-for-5 from the free throw line to record a team-high 17 points. The senior also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go with three assists.
Chase Cullen added 16 points and five boards, while Jason Landman supplied 10 points in the first half. Dotson was 3-for-4 overall, including 2-for-3 from distance to finish with eight points.
Tusculum had three players in double-figures. Hartle was 5-for-9 from behind the arc on the way to a game-high 19 points. Peyton Woods made 10-of-11 free throws to finish with 16 points and Donovan Donaldson posted 15 markers and four assists. Dashaunte Smith was the team’s leading rebounder with six.
Overall, the Flames made 31-of-52 (.596) shots from the field and were 4-for-8 (.500) from behind the arc. The Pioneers were 24-for-52 (.462) from the floor and made 9-of-26 (.346) 3-pointers. Neither team held a large advantage at the free throw line. Lee made 24-of-30 (.800), while Tusculum was 21-for-29 (.724).
Lee turned 19 Tusculum turnovers into 23 points and cashed in seven offensive rebounds for eight second-chance points. Tusculum tallied 15 points off Lee’s 15 floor mistakes and turned in nine offensive boards for 16 second-chance points.
The Flames remain on the road with another contest against a South Atlantic Conference opponent. Lee travels to Jefferson City, Tenn., to face Carson-Newman University on Sat., Nov. 25 at 4 p.m.