HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Lee men's basketball team and the Alabama Huntsville Chargers renewed a budding rivalry on Saturday afternoon. The Flames ended up on the short end of a 71-67 overtime loss to the Chargers.

The Flames made up a seven-point deficit in the second half and had a shot to win the game at the end of regulation but failed to get off a shot in time, sending the game into overtime.

The Chargers went on a 6-0 run to start overtime and the margin was too much to overcome for the Flames.

"We didn't execute well enough in overtime, and I didn't do a very good job of putting our guys in the right spots," lamented head coach Bubba Smith. "We were passive in the first half and didn't do a good job of making adjustments to their defensive pressure. Defensively we didn't adjust quickly enough to their post play. We started doubling the post in the second half and had some success, but we've got to be quicker to adjust, especially on the road."

Freshman PJay Smith led the way with 19 points and five rebounds. Smith poured in four triples and earned the praise of his coach, "I thought PJay played with great pace tonight and it was clear the moment wasn't too big for him. He was in control and gave us a big lift."

Quay Kennedy posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jayce Willingham added 15 and seven rebounds while Michael McGuirk tallied 13 and four boards.

The Chargers post play helped seal the victory thanks to 49 points combined from CJ Williamson and Chaney Johnson. Williamson posted 27 points and nine rebounds on 12 of 18 shooting from around the rim. Johnson added 22 and eight rebounds.

Alabama Huntsville earned the victory despite shooting just 2 of 19 from the 3-point line. The Chargers doubled up the Flames, 44-22 on points in the paint.

The loss drops the Flames to 13-8 and 9-6 in the GSC. The Chargers move to 15-9 and 8-7 in league play. Lee still holds the third spot in the league standings but five teams, including UAH are now just one-game back in the loss column.

The Flames will stay on the road for three tough matchups starting on Thursday at Valdosta State (11-12, 7-9). From there Lee will visit West Florida (16-8, 10-7) and wrap up the trip with Mississippi College on Feb. 21 (5-16, 3-12).

"The road doesn't get any easier for us. We need to stick together through this adversity, learn from this defeat and make the proper adjustments in practice this week to get ready to go back out on the road," concluded Smith.