MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Lee University turned back a late charge by host University of Montevallo on Sunday afternoon, but JJ Barnes and Tim Vaughn stepped to the charity stripe and nailed key free throws to help secure a 90-80 victory inside the Falcons Student Activity Center. 

The win pushes the Flames unbeaten record to 5-0 and 3-0 in GSC play. The Falcons slipped to 1-6, 1-3. Lee will return to Walker Arena and face a pair of huge challenges next Friday and Sunday. The University of Alabama Huntsville pays the first visit at 7:30. The Chargers are 2-1 in league play after a loss to the University of West Alabama. The Flames and West Alabama are scheduled to meet on Sunday at 4:00. 

Barnes, a grad student playing his first season for the Flames, tallied a career high 17 points. He also had five rebounds and three steals. Vaughn finished with a double-double, 13 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Willie Walton came off the bench and paced Lee in scoring with 18 points, which was certainly a career high. He made 8-of-16 shots from the floor and a pair of triples.  

Beyuan Hendricks tossed in 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished off five assists and hit two 3-pointers. Makhi McGuire had three triples and 11 points to round out Lee's double-digit scoring while Tariq Daughton came off the bench for 24 minutes, tallying nine points, ripping down six boards and adding four assists. 

The Flames shot 43% from the field (29-of-67) and made 9-of-32 triples (28%). They were awarded 32 freebies and canned 23. The Falcons shot 45% (31-of-69) and made only 7-of-25 3-pointers. Lee won the rebounding battle 47-39.  

While Lee was capitalizing from the free-throw line, Montevallo was awarded only 17 and made 11. Jaylen Curry was a big load for the Flames to defend and finished with 32 points. Cam Glover was the only other Falcon in double figures. He finished with 12. 

Coach Bubba Smith's thoughts: 

"We were on our heels early on as they got the big jump on us. We settled in and managed to work through it. Even though we had season-high turnovers our guard play was great and we didn't let it get to far out in front of us. 

"Second chance opportunities were huge. Tim (Vaughn), Noah (Boler-Kyle) and Willie (Walton) were great on charging the glass and got big put backs. 

"Now to go back home and get ready for a huge home stand against two great defensive teams."