ROME, GA. – The Lee University men's basketball team used a strong second half to pull away and defeat Shorter for their third straight win. Jayce Willingham led the way for the Flames with 18 points.
The Flames struggled to shoot early starting the game 3-for-10 from the field with Josh Lowe hitting a three pointer to give the Flames a 7-5 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half. The Flames then had a scoring drought of over four minutes before Makhi McGuire tipped his own miss back in the net to give Lee a 9-5 lead.
Lee stretched the lead out to 11-5 before Shorter went on a 8-0 run capped off by an bucket and a free throw by Ricky Knight for the Hawks. Lowe made two free throws to stop the run. Teams traded buckets when Knight hit another three to give Shorter a 20-15 lead. McGuire then answered right back with his own three and made it 20-18 with seven minutes left to go in the first half.
Shorter continued to hit three-point shots and took a 26-19 lead with 3:50 left in the first half. The Hawks pushed the lead out to as many as ten points and led 33-24 at the break. Six of the ten shots made by Shorter were three pointers. SU was 10-23 from the field in the first half while Lee was 7-26 shooting.
Knight hit a three right out of the gate to start the second half to give the Hawks a 12 point lead but McGuire and Tariq Daughton hit back-to-back threes and made it 36-30. Lee continued to chip away and a Lowe bucket cut the deficit to 44-43 with 11:40 left in the contest. Willingham made a tough bucket and was fouled in the process to give Lee the lead 45-44. It was their first lead since it was 11-10. Willingham made the free throw to extend the lead to 46-44.
Flames began to turn up the pressure and went on a 12-0 run to give them a 51-44 lead after a Jalen Page three point shot. The Flames extended the lead out to as many as 15 points at 69-54 with 3:30 left in the contest. The Flames held on to win 74-68.
Head Coach Bubba Smith was very excited about the win. "It wasn't an easy game and give credit to Shorter. We passed up on some shots in the first half, we made some adjustment in the second half. Our defense was much crisper in the second. Noah Boler has been playing at an elite level the last two games. He has been a difference maker especially on the boards. This is life on the road in the GSC. We have to battle each and every night and we did that in the second half."
The Flames outscored the Hawks by 17 points in the second half. Lee was 16-24 from the free throw line. The Flames shot 26% in the first half from the floor and then bounced bacj and shot 58% in the second half. PJay Smith added 17 points and eight rebounds in the win. McGuire was the other Flame to score in double figures with 11 points.
Lee will return home and host Delta State on Friday, December 16 at 8 PM at Walker Arena.
