Christian Brothers' Jeff Larkin nailed a 3-point shot just before the final buzzer in a five-minute overtime period giving the visiting Bucs a 80-78 win over a Lee club that finished the gut-wrenching contest with three of its main players on the sidelines.
With just over six seconds remaining in the overtime period, the Flames had gone in front 78-77 on a two-point shot by Elgrin Wilson. Christian Brothers came across the half-court line and called a timeout with 3.8 seconds left. The in-bound pass went to Larkin, who was some 19-feet away from the basket. The sophomore, who had hit four treys earlier, drilled his shot to send the battling Flames down to defeat.
Regulation play ended with the score tied at 70. In the extra period, the Bucs quickly went up 77-72 but the Flames refused to fold and led by Chase Cullen, Levi Woods and Wilson gained the upper hand and appeared to be on their way to a second straight thrilling win before Larkin's game-winner.
Lee lost its leading scorer Keevin Tyus early in the first half. He was ejected when an official said he threw a punch in a skirmish under the Flames basket. Rico Overall and Rantavious Gilbert left the game before regulation play ended with five fouls.
Larkin finished the game with 23 points and converted 5-of-8 3-point attempts. Drew Hildreth did most of his damage in the first half and recorded 19 points, but it was freshman Adam Dieball who claimed the game's high-point honors with 25 markers.
Christian Brothers appeared ready to run away with the game early in the first half. They went on a 14-0 run and gained a 27-9 lead. Lee responded with a 10-point run of its own and cut the margin to 42-33 at halftime.
The Flames grabbed their first lead of the contest with some 15 minutes remaining in regulation on a bucket by Cullen. He finished the contest with an eye-catching double-double, 23 points and 15 rebounds. Woods turned in a career high 16 points and rallied the Flames in the second half. Gilbert also had a career high 11 points. However, the highlight of his performance was another career-high eight blocked shots, much to the delight of another large crowd in Walker Arena. Wilson finished with eight markers.
"They basically beat us with three players," said a deeply dejected coach Tommy Brown after the crushing defeat. "That tells you why coach (Mike) Nienaber is considered the top coach in our conference. Despite having three of our starters off the court, we were still able to have a shot at winning. Our guys continue to battle and I hate that one incident under the basket could have very well cost us the victory."
Lee shot 43 percent from the field but managed only 3-of-13 from 3-point range. The Flames turned in their best performance of the season at the free-throw line, converting 17-of-20. Cullen was a perfect 9-of-9. Lee dominated the rebounding battle winning 48-36. They turned the basketball over 12 times, while the Bucs committed 10 floor mistakes to go along with 14 assists. Dieball had five assists in the win.
The Lee defense held the Memphis club to only 38 percent shooting from the floor. However, the Bucs stepped outside to can 15-of-33 attempts from behind the arc. They made 9-of-17 free throws. The Flames were whistled for 22 fouls and the Bucs had only 14.
The Flames will hit the road for two games before returning to Walker Arena on February 4 for four more home dates. They will face West Florida on Thursday in the second part of a doubleheader. On Saturday they will move back up to Valdosta State.
