Over the years Lee junior Bryce Copeland has been involved in several key situations. First as a football and basketball player at nearby Bradley Central and then during his first 2 1/2 years as a member of the Flames basketball team. The gutsy guard rose up and knocked down likely the biggest shot of his entire athletic career on Thursday evening in Lee's thrilling 71-67 victory over a talented Union University squad.
With the clock ticking down to 20-seconds remaining and the Flames leading 66-65, Copeland nailed a deep 3-pointer from the right wing to put Lee on top 69-65. The Bulldogs quickly called a timeout but failed to convert their 3-point attempt. Rantavious Gilbert was fouled after securing the rebound and sank two straight free throws to seal the sweet victory.
"I was beginning to wonder if any of our guys were going to take the shot," admitted coach Tommy Brown, wearing a big smile after his team posted their second straight Gulf South Conference victory. "Bryce certainly wasn't afraid of the shot and it was a thing of beauty. He continues to step up and play big moments for our team. I've got to give our students (section) a share of the credit for this victory. They were great from the opening moments and stayed with us the entire game."
It was balanced scoring before the large crowd that helped post the win. Copeland hit 4-of-6 treys and finished the evening with a team-high 12 points. Levi Woods countered with three makes from behind the arc and tallied 11 points. Stephan Burrows came off the bench to score 10 of his 11 points in the first half and Elgrin Wilson contributed all 10 of his markers in the opening 20 minutes.
"If you had told me that Keevin (Tyus) and Chase (Cullen) had been held scoreless for the entire first half, I would have told you there was no way we would be leading at the half (35-34)," Brown noted. "It was certainly a team victory against a very talented Union club. We've had some tough times before this point in the season but our guys have never quit. They have continued to work hard in practice and continued to improve."
Brown was pleased with the way his Flames took care of the basketball. They were guilty of only nine turnovers, compared to 19 assists. "That will win a lot of basketball games for your team," he injected. The Lee coach was also pleased with the way his club defended Union's Marterrace Brock. "He's certainly a first-team all-league player and we held him to only three points in the second half. Levi guarded him most of the time in the half and did a good job."
Brock tallied 16 points in the loss. Ashanti Day followed with 14. KC Goodwin added 13 and Jordan Montgomery rounded out Union's double-figure scoring with 10 points. The Bulldogs shot 40 percent from the field and hit 7-of-22 3-pointers. They stayed in the game by making 18-of-24 free throws.
Lee countered with a solid shooting performance, 43 percent from the floor and 46 percent (10-of-22) from behind the arc. They managed just 9-of-16 charity attempts but out-rebounded the taller Union club 34-31. Woods paced the Flames with eight rebounds. Tyus pulled down six and Gilbert added five boards to go along with seven points and three blocks.
The Flames will try to keep their winning streak alive when they host another talented squad in Christian Brothers on Saturday. It will be the second half of a doubleheader with the Lady Flames opening play at 2 p.m.
