Box Score
Playing its fourth game in a week the Lee men's basketball team came up short against visiting Christian Brothers University, 74-67 on Saturday afternoon inside Walker Arena.
After trailing by seven (36-29) at the halftime break the Flames cut the lead to four at the 17:46 mark in the second half on a 3-point basket by Chad Lee. The Bucs would buckle down from there however and never let Lee any closer to seal the road victory.
"They packed it in defensively and made it difficult for us to get to the basket. We got several good looks at 3's but we just couldn't convert" lamented head coach Tommy Brown.
The Flames shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the field while the Bucs came in at 51.9 percent (27-of-52). The big difference in the game came from behind the arc as CBU converted 10-of-20 from 3 while the Flames cashed in just two of its 16 attempts.
"I don't think we played that bad they just really shot the 3 well" said Brown. "(Mike Nienaber) is a legendary coach and they executed their offense very well. It's hard to defend with just one day to prepare for it."
Corey Billingsley scored 14 points to lead the Flames. The senior converted 4-of-10 from the field and was 6-of-7 from the foul line. Stedmond Ford bounced back from a difficult scoring night on Thursday to register 13 points. The freshman was 6-of-11 from the field. Another freshman Jamal Worthington made the most of his extended playing time by scoring 12 points while pulling down four rebounds.
Any time the Flames managed to make a run the Bucs were able to stem the tide thanks in large part to Trey Casey's offensive production. Casey scored a game-high 26 points finishing 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Drew Hildreth added 15 points and eight rebounds while Harry Green tallied 12 points for the Memphis club.
"I hope our young guys learn from the way they execute their offense." added Brown.
The Flames held the advantage in the rebounding department by a 31-24 margin. Leading rebounder Chad Lee pulled down 10 boards to go along with seven points.
The Loss drops Lee to 6-6 on the year and 2-4 in the Gulf South Conference. The victory moves CBU to 7-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
The Flames will look to get back on the winning track when they travel to Livingston, Ala. to tangle with GSC foe West Alabama on Thursday. The Tigers currently occupy second place in the rugged GSC with a 4-2 conference mark. Tip time is set for 8:30 p.m.
