CLINTON, Miss. – Jervon Johnson scored 21 points and Cory Billingsley added 20 more, but Mississippi College's Tristan Moore score on a layup with five seconds remaining to hand Lee a 73-72 Gulf South Conference (GSC) defeat. The loss was the fourth straight for the Flames and dropped their record to 9-6 overall and 4-6 in conference play. The Choctaws improved to 5-5 in the GSC and 7-5 overall.
The Flames had a couple opportunities to build upon a one-point lead in the final 31 seconds, but missed the front end of two bonus trips to the charity stripe.
"We had it won, but didn't make free throws," said Lee head coach Tommy Brown. "They knew we would want to get the ball into CB's hands and they did a good job denying him the ball. We didn't do a good job defensively on that last possession. There are some things I think we could have done differently, but I can second guess it forever."
Johnson was 7-for-9 from beyond the arc on his way to his game-high 21 points. Billingsley made 3-of-7 3-point field goals and was 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Billingsley also grabbed five rebounds and had four assists.
"When Jervon gets hot the rim can begin to look pretty big for him," added Brown.
Tyquan Roberts gave Lee three players in double-digit scoring. Roberts was 4-for-7 from the floor on the way to 11 points and eight rebounds.
Chad Lee and Stedmon Ford each tallied six points with Lee contributing six rebounds and four assists. Ford added three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Flames won the rebound battle with 36 boards to the Choctaws' 28. Lee turned 13 offensive rebounds into 13 second chance points, while MC recorded 10 second chance points off nine offensive rebounds.
Lee made 23-of-51 (.451) shots, including 12-of-25 (.480) from distance. Mississippi College was 26-for-56 (.464) from the field and 5-for-12 (.417) from three-point territory. Both teams made 22 trips to the free throw line with the Choctaws recording a 16-14 edge in free throws made.
Mississippi College had five players score in double-figures. Moore was the leader with 13. Stacey Mack, Tory Rice and Johnny Rucker threw in 12 points each, while Giancarlo Santiago finished with 10 markers. Rice earned a double-double with 10 rebounds.
The Flames travel to Rome, Ga., Thursday night to take on Shorter University. The 8 p.m. contest will be Lee's third in a series of five consecutive away games.
