CLEVELAND, Miss. – Stedmon Ford scored 26 points, but it wasn't enough as the Lee University men's basketball team was edged 64-61 by host Delta State University in a Gulf South Conference (GSC) contest Saturday evening. The loss for Lee (9-5, 4-5 GSC) was the third in as many games, while Delta State (9-6, 6-3 GSC) posted its second straight win.
"They (Delta State) are really good and athletic," said Lee head coach Tommy Brown. "We had the best week of practice. (Ryan) Ross and Cole (Rose) did a great job of getting us ready and our seniors worked hard, but it just didn't fall our way."
Ford posted 17 of his game-high 26 points in the game's opening half. The junior point guard finished 10-for-19 from the field and made 6-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc.
"Stedmon had his best game, but might have waited too long to step in there and become a passer," said Brown. "He's becoming better at hitting that floater in the paint and it helps when he is hitting shots from outside."
Cory Billingsley was the only other Flame to score in double figures. Billingsley scored 13 markers on 6-of-14 shooting.
Tyquan Roberts added nine points to go along with six from Chase Cullen, four from Cody Farley and three free throws from Jervon Johnson.
"Chase helps make us so much more athletic. Hopefully he can stay healthy, because he makes it easier for us to match up with other teams. Jervon did a great job defensively, too."
The Flames made a higher percentage of their shots than Delta State. Lee was 24-for-54 (.444) from the field, while DSU was 24-for-56 (.429). From distance, the Flames shot 41 percent (7-of-17) and the Statesmen connected on 8-of-19 (.421).
Delta State held a large advantage at the free throw line. DSU outscored Lee 8-6 at the line, although the Flames had five more attempts.
"We've been a really good free throw shooting team," said Brown. "Maybe it was from having to fight so hard on defense to get through their screens that we didn't have enough left."
"It hurts," admitted Brown. "The kids battled all game. This is one of the toughest losses we've had. It would've been a good one (to win), but we're making progress. Last year we wouldn't have fought back after they made those couple runs."
Delta State outscored the Flames 15-5 during a 5 ½ minute stretch in the second half to turn a 45-40 Lee advantage into a five-point DSU margin.
The Flames used an 18-3 run over a six minute span late in the first half to erase a 10-point deficit and take a 35-30 lead. The Statesmen scored four points in the final minute to head into the halftime break with Lee ahead 35-31.
Lee remains on the road for the second of five-straight games away from Paul Dana Walker Arena. The Flames face Mississippi College on Monday at 9 p.m. EST.
