FLORENCE, Ala. – Keevin Tyus led all scorers with 28 points, but it was not enough as the Lee University men's basketball team fell at University of North Alabama, 81-76, Thursday night in Flowers Hall. The Flames (3-7, 1-4 GSC) will close out the fall semester with a trip to The University of Alabama in Huntsville on Saturday. The GSC matchup is scheduled for a 5 p.m. EST tipoff.
"We knew they were pretty good," said Lee head coach Tommy Brown. "We played a lot better and are getting better each game. It stinks we have nothing to show for our effort, but there are no moral victories."
The host Lions (6-5, 3-2 GSC) held a 10-point lead with 5:41 remaining before the Flames pulled to within three points at 79-76 with 49 seconds left on the clock. Lee had a chance to cut the deficit to one with 19 ticks on the clock, but missed both free throw attempts. UNA made a couple freebies in the final seconds to supply the final score.
The Flames struggled at the free throw line making just 9-of20 attempts. North Alabama made good on 17 of their 25 trips to the line.
"I don't know what to do about it," said Brown. "We shot a lot of free throws in practice this week. We have tried different things. We've tried talking about it and not talking about it."
Tyus made 13-of-18 (.722) shots from the field and finished one rebound shy of a double-double. The junior added three steals and an assist to his stat line.
"Keevin is a hard guy to guard when he drives to the hole," added Brown. "I think he got their whole team in foul trouble."
CJ Reese was the only other Lee player to reach double figures in scoring. The sophomore finished with 10 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
Rico Overall added nine points and two assists, while Bryce Copeland canned two 3-point shots. Rantavious Gilbert finished with six points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.
Levi Woods was the Lee assist leader with four. He added five points and two rebounds to the cause.
The Flames and Lions each took 59 shots from the floor. Lee made 31 to UNA's 28, but the hosts converted three more attempts from behind the arc.
North Alabama had four players in double-figure scoring. Bilal Richardson led the Lions with 18 points and eight rebounds. Dimarrio Jackson recorded 17 markers and five boards. John Fletcher contributed 14 points and Austin Timms had 10 points.
