CARROLLTON, Ga. – Cory Billingsley scored on a putback bucket as time expired to give Lee a 49-48 victory over Morehouse College in the first game of the GSC-SIAC Challenge presented by Wentz Financial. The Flames move to 1-0 on the season and face Claflin University Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Billingsley scored six of his game-high 20 points in the final 46 seconds, which saw the lead exchange hands three times. After Billingsley pulled Lee to within two points with a made free throw, his second attempt was no good. Cody Farley grabbed the offensive board, found an open Billingsley who nailed a three-pointer to put the Flames up by one.
Morehouse worked the clock until Tyrone Brown was able to regain the lead on a layup with six seconds left. Billingsley took the inbound pass, dribbled up court, had his first shot attempt blocked by Brown, recovered the ball and put up another shot before the buzzer sounded.
When asked about Billingsley, Lee head coach Tommy Brown responded, "He's had some game-winners for us. It is funny how laid back he is. You say you're going to get the stop, but if we don't, let CB take it all the way."
The Flames had to fight back from an early 18-2 deficit. Lee missed its first 10 shots and didn't score until the 12:35 mark in the first half.
"We might have been a little intimidated early in the game. They have a couple 7-footers and are probably the biggest team I've seen," admitted Brown.
At that time, Morehouse held a 14-2 lead. Lee closed the gap to nine and went into the halftime break down 26-17.
With 15 ½ minutes left in the second half, Lee began a 16-0 run that saw them erase a 35-23 Morehouse lead and turn it into a 39-35 advantage with just over six minutes on the clock.
Tyquan Roberts joined Billingsley in double-digit scoring with 10 points. Roberts added six rebounds. Farley was Lee's leading rebounder with nine.
Coach Brown also praised Jervon Johnson, Chad Lee and Stephan Burrows for their contributions to the win. Johnson and Lee each scored two points to go with two rebounds. Burrows added two points and an assist.
Brown was the offensive leader for the Maroon Tigers. He recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Miodrag Minic, Tyrius Walker, Johnathan Walker and Michael Hall each added eight points in the loss.
The Flames grabbed 35 rebounds, while the Maroon Tigers pulled down 30 boards. Lee turned 14 offensive rebounds into nine second chance points and Morehouse tallied six points off eight offensive boards.
The Flames turned the ball over 14 times in the game, but were only guilty of five floor mistakes in the final 20 minutes. Morehouse committed 11 turnovers for the game.
The record for fewest points in a game for Lee University men's basketball is 44. That mark was set against Covenant College on March 5, 1971. The Flames didn't reach the 44 point mark in tonight's game until Billingsley's made free throw in the final minute.
