CLEVELAND, Tenn. –The Lee University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire on Saturday afternoon with a 79-43 win over Covenant College. 13 different Flames scored in front of a packed Walker Arena celebrating Homecoming.
Tim Vaughn got the game going with the first bucket just 16 seconds into the game, and the Flames never looked back. Lee used smothering defense most of the game and never allowed Covenant to get on track. The Scots did not score a single point for the first six plus minutes of the contest as David Compere finally got a layup to fall with 13:05 left in the first half.
The Flames shared the ball very well garnering 17 assists amongst the team while only allowing eight turnovers. Meanwhile, Lee's defense forced Covenant into 24 turnovers in the contest. The Flames only allowed the Scots to shoot 22% all afternoon going 9-for-41 from the field and 5-for-24 from long range. Lee used those missed shots to pull down 49 rebounds in the contest. On the other end of the floor, Lee shot 42% for the game.
It was a slow start offensively for the Flames as well, they only managed to get nine points in the first nine minutes of the game but then it clicked into gear. Josh Lowe hit a three-point shot and that sparked an 11-0 run late in the first half to put Lee up 34-18 at the break. At halftime, 10 of the 18 points for Covenant came from the free throw line.
The offensive onslaught for the Flames continued in the second half with Tim Vaughn scoring six quick points with two dunks and a layup and Lee was off to the races. They scored 45 points in the second half. They held Covenant to just 25 points on the way to the 79-43 win.
Vaughn led all scorers with 11 points while freshman Zach Gray added nine. Another true freshman, Tylon Chatman, had eight, while Josh Lowe and Beyaun Hendricks each had seven.
The Flames will open the season next Saturday, November 11 at 2 PM as they will host Edward Waters University at Walker Arena.
Coach Bubba Smith's Thoughts:
"It was great to see everyone on the floor contribute. There were different waves of energy that guys brought. The second half was a great start and the second group brought even more energy."
"We are going to be a well-balanced team this year. We are going to have to rely on that and beat teams as a group. How much better can we get now? We have improved greatly over the last three weeks."
"There aren't many places where the crowd that big and that enthusiastic for an exhibition game and that's what makes Lee special. We also thank Food City for making the regular season games free for everyone making it much more affordable. It is going to be a fun year."
