After not shooting a single free-throw in the first half, the Lee Flames went to the charity stripe 33 times in the second 20 minutes and converted 25 in a huge 78-66 SSAC victory over Emmanuel College on Saturday evening in Walker Arena.
The win puts the second-ranked Flames in first place (13-1) in the heated conference race and drops the ninth-ranked Lions to 12-2. Overall, Lee stands at 24-1 and Emmanuel slips to 23-3.
Despite not shooting a charity toss in the first half, Lee still led 35-23 at the half. Will Barnes set the pace with 13 of his final 19 points. However, it was the Lee defense that held the Emmanuel shooters to only 28 percent from the field in the opening half that helped open up the lead.
As expected, the Lions came charging back in the second 20 minutes and on two occasions cut the lead down to only four points. "We held our composure well at that point," said Lee coach Tommy Brown. "We haven't been able to do that in earlier games. I thought Duran Blue did a great job of running our offense and keeping us under control."
The Flames featured five players in double-digit scoring, but it was the 16-point and 11-rebound performance of big Steve Bennett that pleased Brown the most. "That's the best game he's played since coming to Lee," praised the coach. "He held his ground and made the big shots. In fact, our entire front line (Bennett, Patrick Shaughnessy, Chad Lee and Jamorris Gaines) was outstfiveanding."
Bennett's double-double was followed by 12 points and five rebounds by Blue. Chase Dunn and Gaines rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 apiece. Corey Billingsley made 5-of-6 free throws and tallied seven points.
"We were consistent with our shooting the entire night despite Emmanuel picking up the intensity against our guards," noted Brown. The Flames shot 50 percent in the first half and 49 percent in the second 20 minutes. Brown pointed out that his club shot decently despite not connecting on a 3-pointer in the second half.
The Lions were paced by the determined effort of Adrian Justice who finished with 31 points, many coming late in the battle. Luke Miller was the only other Lion to score in double figures. He totaled 13 and Michael Stanley added eight points and seven rebounds.
The Flames will get a badly needed break before returning to action on Thursday night at 8 p.m. when they host Southern Poly. It will be the second game of a doubleheader. In the opener, the Lady Flames will be in a battle for first place in the SSAC against the Lady Hornets.
