Defense wins a lot of sporting events and that's exactly what the Lee men's basketball team displayed on Thursday evening, holding visiting Mississippi College to only 18 points in the first half.
 
The 72-55 victory over the Choctaws was the Flames fifth straight home court win. They improved to 6-2 overall and more importantly, 2-0 in Gulf South Conference play. They will need the same type of effort on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.) when Delta State University comes calling.
 
"I never expected that," said Lee coach Bubba Smith in a post-game interview. "I was really proud of the defensive effort and until we got a little loose with the basketball near the end, I was pleased with the overall effort."
 
The Flames led 37-18 at halftime and held the Choctaws to only 21 percent shooting from the field. For the game, the visitors were able to shoot just 27 percent against a Lee defense which shifted from a zone to man-to-man on different possessions.
 
At the same time, Lee shot a solid 46 percent (26-of-56) for the game and converted 7-of-19 shots from beyond the arc. If there was a negative it came from the free-throw line where the Flames connected on 13-of-21.
 
"Our team continues to share the basketball," noted Coach Smith. "We had 17 assists to 14 turnovers and several of our floor mistakes came late in the game. Our guys have to keep working hard on the defensive end. It is very important to win our home games and that will be what we stress as we move into the Delta State game."
 
Senior Keevin Tyus produced a double-double to pace Lee's offensive attack. He finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Isaac Merian came off the bench to score 11 points and continued his deadly shooting from 3-point range, hitting 2-of-3 attempts. He also collected six rebounds. Rico Overall followed with nine points and six key assists.
 
Cody Jones added four assists to go with his six points as Coach Smith used 10 players and all 10 scored. Cody Farley cleaned the glass with seven boards as the Flames dominated the glass 45-33.
 
Brandon Boston paced the Choctaws scoring with 13 points and Davy Fisher came off the bench to knock down a pair of treys and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in finishing with 10 points.