Lynn University nailed a 3-pointer and converted 12 straight free throws in the final two minutes and 22 seconds to turn away a furious Lee comeback and win 79-69 in the Joe McCormick Classic on Sunday afternoon.
The two-day event was hosted by Palm Beach Atlantic University and the Flames split a pair of games with clubs from the Sunshine State Conference. Lee will return home and begin preparing for the Gulf South Conference opener next Saturday.
The Flames were down by 17 points with 17:27 remaining, but fought back to capture their only lead of the entire contest (53-51) on a pair of free throws followed by a two-pointer by Keevin Tyus at the 7:05 mark. It was a 3-point game (65-62) before the Fighting Knights began to knock down the charity tosses and salt the victory away.
Coach Bubba Smith liked the way his club responded to the second-half deficit. “Against Lane (College) two weeks ago, we didn’t respond well. Today we responded well after going down by 17. Our second group gave us a big lift after the first media timeout in the second half, but the hole we dug was too big to sustain.”
Smith noted that his team answered a big challenge, but Lynn answered right back. “I think today was a sign of growth for our team. I’m hoping some of the things we learned will help us get ready for the conference opener against Shorter,” he added.
Lynn, paced by Marquan Botley’s 31 points, paraded to the free throw line 27 times and nailed 23. Jamal Palmer followed with 17 markers while Juwan Frazier tallied 10. The Fighting Knights also connected on 43 percent of their shots from behind the arc and 42 percent from the field. They also won the rebounding battle, 29-26.
The Flames countered with a balanced attack. Rico Overall was the scoring leader with 17. Tyus and Jervon Johnson followed with 11 apiece while Cody Jones rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 markers. Cody Farley and Ryan Montgomery pitched in with seven points apiece. Levi Woods was the game’s rebounding leader (6).
The Flames shot 49 percent from the field (22-of-45) and made 7-of-15 trey attempts. They also converted 18-of-26 freebies, no match in that category posted by the winners. Lee had 14 turnovers compared to 12 for Lynn.