Christian Brothers University outscored Lee 36-23 in the second half and posted a key Gulf South Conference victory on Saturday afternoon in Walker Arena. It was the fourth straight defeat for the Flames who face another tough GSC challenge on Monday evening at Shorter University.
 
The win improved Christian Brothers record to 12-8 overall and 9-5 in the important conference race. The Flames slipped to 9-10 and 5-8 in the 60-54 loss.
 
Missed free throws, turnovers and defensive mistakes proved costly to Coach Bubba Smith's club. "We have to get mentally tougher in the second half and our seniors have to be more focused. Down the stretch, we fell asleep too many times on defense," noted the Lee coach.
 
The Flames held a 31-24 advantage at the half after Jervon Johnson knocked down a 3-point shot at the buzzer. However, the Bucs regrouped and Jeff Larkin scored six straight points to open the second stanza. Adam Dieball followed with a triple and all of a sudden Christian Brothers gained the lead.
 
Lee battled back in the late stages and cut the lead to two points on a couple of occasions. Twice the front end of one-plus-one free throws were missed and then Johnson missed a huge opportunity to convert a four-point play after he was fouled on a successful 3-pointer.
 
"Christian Brothers came after us with great aggressiveness in the second half and we didn't respond," stressed Coach Smith. "We keep beating ourselves with defensive breakdowns and turnovers."
 
Dieball all scorers with 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Larkin finished with 13, while Adam Trentman produced a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Bucs shot only 38 percent in the first half but came back with 60 percent shooting in the second 20 minutes. They turned the basketball over just nine times, but converted only 6-of-15 free throws.

Lee was paced by a hard-earned 14 points by Keevin Tyus. Cody Farley tallied 13 points and paced the Flames in rebounding with eight. Lee held a 31-30 margin on the glass. Johnson hit three triples and had nine points.
 
For the game, the Flames shot 50 percent in the first half but just 33 percent in the second 20 minutes, finishing with 42 percent for the game. They fired 22 3-pointers and converted eight (36 percent) and struggled at the line hitting 8-of-15. The Flames committed 18 floor mistakes.
 
"This team will continue to work hard," said Coach Smith. "We will look at the film of the game and try to correct some of the mistakes we are making, especially on the defensive end."