MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Paced by outstanding shooting by senior guard Chase Dunn early in the second half, the Lee Flames out-scored host Auburn Montgomery 52-33 in the second 20 minutes and went on to open the Southern States Athletic Conference season with an impressive 87-67 road win.
The Flames led only 35-34 at the break but the play of Dunn got Lee off to a tremendous start in the second half and they never looked back. Dunn canned 3 3-pointers and a two-point field goal in the first four minutes of the second half and helped Lee build a 50-45 advantage.
From that point forward, the entire team seemed to catch fire with Will Barnes, Corey Billingsley and Chad Lee helping lead the charge. By the time the contest reached the six-minute mark, Lee was comfortably on top, 78-56 and coach Tommy Brown was able to go deep into his bench to allow several of his regulars a little rest before another key battle at the University of Mobile on Saturday at 6 p.m. (EST).
"We were terrible in the first half, didn't seem to have our focus and were not moving our legs on defense," said Brown after his Flames improved to 6-0 overall. "We had a serious talk at the halftime break and what else can I say, we were just an entirely different team in the second half and a lot of different players helped give us the lift we needed."
After shooting a solid 42 percent overall in the first half and making 6-of-16 3-point shots, the Flames shot a blistering 65 percent overall in the second 20 minutes and 46 percent from behind the arc. They finished the contest with a 54 percent average from the field and 41 percent from behind the arc.
Three Lee players posted double-figure points. Barnes paved the way with 21 markers. Dunn followed closely with 19. Billingsley had his moments by making 3-of-4 treys and totaling 15 points, while big Steve Bennett countered with eight points and eight rebounds. Duran Blue tallied nine points and tied Dunn in the assist department with six.
But again, the unsung hero was sophomore Chad Lee. He scored only two points but grabbed eight rebounds and came away with five big steals. Munira Bawa saw his share of action, ramming home a pair of dunks and finishing the evening with seven points.
The Warhawks (1-3) were paced by Michael Willis with 17 points, Reshad Bickham came off the bench to tally 17 and LeRel Jackson totaled 10 points. Lee won the rebounding battle 39-33. The Flames were guilty of 17 turnovers and AUM committed 18.
"We've got to play a very tough Mobile team in less than 24 hours and our guys have to rise to the challenge," noted Brown. "As usual Mobile will have a well coached basketball team and it will take 40 minutes of solid play for us to produce another big road win."
