In an old fashioned shootout, the Lee men’s basketball team converted 5-of-6 free throws in overtime and turned back a talented College of Coastal Georgia team in the first day of the Valdosta State Thanksgiving Classic on Friday evening.
Regulation play ended with the contest knotted at 86. The Flames controlled the tip in overtime and finally gained the lead they never surrendered in a battle that rocked back and forth for a solid 40 minutes.
Key defensive stops in the OT also played an important role in allowing Lee to even its record at 2-2 on the year. After a couple of key stops, Keevin Tyus, who led the Flames’ high-powered offensive attack with a career high 30 points, stepped to the line and gave the Flames a 96-93 advantage with 1:19 remaining.
Two more misses by the Mariners sent CJ Reese to the charity stripe and he converted all four of his free throws to help seal the victory and give Lee a 100-93 advantage. The final freebie of the game was made by Rico Overall.
It was Reese who tied the contest after coach Tommy Brown called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining and the Flames down by two points. Reese, who has a special way of taking the ball to the hoop, dribbled the length of the floor to score. He finished with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Lee moved out to a 10-point advantage midway of the first half but the Mariners came fighting back to claim a 46-38 lead by halftime.
Coach Brown said two big 3-pointers by Jervon Johnson to open the second half helped get his team back on track. Again, the Flames sprinted out to a nine-point lead only to see the Coastal Georgia team fight back and take a lead of their own.
“I thought our defense was much better in the second half and we handled their full-court pressure better than we did in the opening half,” noted Brown. “We worked hard against their pressure defense all week and searched for ways to stop (Dominic) Early.”
Despite attempts to slow the Mariners star, he still tallied 29 points. “He’s a pro and will be playing somewhere next season,” praised Brown.
After shooting 52 percent in the first half from the field and 55 percent from behind the arc, the Flames held the Mariners to only 32 percent shooting in the second 20 minutes and 33 percent in overtime.
On the other hand, Lee turned in a solid offensive performance by shooting 52 percent from the floor in the first half and an even better 58 percent in the second stanza. They converted 15-of-20 free throws and won a rugged battle on the boards 44-40.
Johnson tallied 16 points and Elgrin Wilson was a force the entire evening with a double-double, 14 points and 13 rebounds. Chase Cullen, who fouled out of the contest, added nine and Rantavious Gilbert controlled the action inside with five blocks.
While Early was blistering the nets, he had help from Derrick Frye, 18 points; Milton Geddes, 15 points; Corey Harris, 12 points and Hunter DeRuiter, 10 points.
The Flames will have little time to rest. They will return to action on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. and face Palm Beach Atlantic. “They are an entirely different type of team,” said Brown. “They like to slow things down and play a half-court game. That might not be all bad after the high-paced game we had tonight.”