Lee used its 3-point weapon to help turn back a determined effort by visiting Hiwassee College on Thursday evening in Walker Arena.
The Flames converted 6-of-13 (46 percent) of their shots from behind the arc in the second half and handed the Tigers a 74-55 defeat. The win was Lee's fourth straight and sets up a key Gulf South battle with rival Shorter University on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Walker Arena. It will also be Senior Night and Lee will honor Chad Lee, Cory Billingsley and Tyquan Roberts in their final regular season home game.
Lee held only a 27-22 lead at the break but quickly built up a 21-point lead midway of the second half behind the 3-point shooting of Chad Lee, Cory Billingsley and Jervon Johnson. They combined to convert six treys in the second 20 minutes and for the game the Flames made 9-of-23 (39 percent).
The balanced Lee attack was paced by a double-double from Chad Lee, 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jervon Johnson was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe and finished with 12 markers, while Roberts and Billingsley pitched in with 11 markers apiece and Stedmon Ford added nine points and four assists to the winning total.
Billingsley and Chad Lee were honored before the start of Thursday's contest. Coach Tommy Brown awarded Billingsley a special ball for scoring over 1,000 points during his four-year career at Lee, while Chad Lee was also presented a ball for pulling down over 500 rebounds.
Hiwassee was paced by Kaseem Davidson who poured in 20 points. Kevin Jackson was the only other Tiger in double figures, 10 points.
Lee's defense held Hiwassee to only 39 percent shooting from the field and just 29 percent from 3-point range. The Tigers also struggled at the free-throw line, cashing in on just 13-of-22 attempts. The Flames won the rebounding battle 39-34 but surrendered 11 offensive rebounds.
Lee countered with 44 percent shooting from the field (22-of-50). The Flames were awarded 28 free throws and canned 21. They also did major damage by outscoring the Tigers 26-14 in points in the paint.
Coach Tommy Brown admitted that his team came out a little flat and never really got into a good flow of the game. "I think the name on their jerseys might have had something to do with that," admitted the Lee coach. "Hiwassee has played a very tough schedule including some good NCAA Division I teams and they played a lot of those teams close. I hope we realize that we will have to play even better next Wednesday when we face them again in the NCCAA tournament. I know they will come into that contest really fired up because a bid to the NCCAA national tournament will be on the line."
The Flames improved to 15-12 overall, while Hiwassee dropped to 10-18.
