The Lee Flames had to overcome a barrage of 3-point goals by visiting Brewton-Parker in the first half and out-scored the Barons 51-29 in the second half en route to a 91-66 Southern States Athletic Conference victory on Saturday evening.
Lee improved to 14-4 overall and 3-0 in the hotly contested SSAC race. The Flames will play their third game over a five-day span on Monday evening when they travel to Cleveland, Ga. and face conference newcomer Truett-McConnell College.
Lee used another balanced attack as Jerel Blocker made 7-of-10 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, and finished with 20 points. Antonio Haymon and Stephen McClellan followed with 13 points apiece. McClellan nailed 3-of-4 shots from behind the arc. Haymon had five rebounds and three assists. Larriques Cunningham rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points. He had three blocks and contributed two assists.
Teddrick Hardy countered with nine points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Brice Sharp nailed a pair of treys and registered nine markers. Johnny Godette had eight points and six rebounds. The Flames shot lights-out from the field for the second straight game, hitting 56 percent from the floor and 50 percent (9-of-18) from 3-point range. They also cashed in on 20-of-27 freebies.
“We have to shoot that well when we commit 25 turnovers,” said coach Tommy Brown. “I’ve got to take that responsibility on my shoulders. We really haven’t worked against the press that often. Brewton-Parker took advantage of a lapse in our defense in the first half to grab the lead. We were leaving them with too many open three’s. “
The Barons made nine treys in the first 20 minutes and trailed only 40-37 at the break. In fact it took a late surge by the Flames to grab the half-time lead. However, the Brewton-Parker bombs stopped falling in the second half and the visitors only made 10-of-34 attempts from behind the arc for the game.
DeMario Black paced the Barons scoring attack with 15 points. Andrew Dikas followed closely with 14 and Gerald Kohn tallied 12 points and led his team with six rebounds. Lee won the rebounding battle 44-32 and held Brewton-Parker to only 31 percent shooting from the field. The Barons also made just 12-of-21 free-throw attempts in slipping to 2-7 overall and 0-1 in SSAC play.
Playing their first home game since the end of November, the Lee University Lady Flames basketball team scored a season high in points, earning a 98-65 win over visiting Brewton-Parker College.
It was a fast-paced contest from start to finish against the athletic, Lady Barons, as the Lady Flames used all of their depth, playing 15 different players in the contest.
Senior Brooke McKinnon once again led the Lady Flames, 12-3, in scoring, tallying 15 points. Hollie German added 13 points, while Kayla Carlisle, Madison Lee and Karley Miller each scored 11 points.
For Brewton-Parker, 4-10, Jayla Moon led the way with 12 points, with Laquisha Ward and Courtney Saunds each contributing 11 points. Crystal Nwaopara rounded out the double figure scoring in a balanced Lady Baron attack with 10 points.
The Lady Flames struggled on the boards, getting outrebounded 41-25. They made up for it defensively, however, forcing 30 Brewton-Parker turnovers.
Statistically, Lee played one of their best contests of the season. The Lady Flames shot a blistering 63-percent from the field, including 56-percent from behind the three-point line. Both of those percentages are a season best for the Lee ladies.
Defensively the Lady Flames held Brewton-Parker to 39-percent shooting, including 0-of-7 from behind the arc. Lee’s 57 first half points were the highest of any half for the Lady Flames this season.
It will be a quick turnaround for Lee as they travel to Cleveland, Ga., for a Monday evening contest at Truett-McConnell College. The Lady Flames will take a 2-0 conference record to the contest with the new Southern States Athletic Conference member.
The next home game for the Lady Flames will be Saturday, Jan.22, as the Lee men and women host Southern Polytechnic State University at Walker Arena. The doubleheader will begin at 5 p.m.