CLEVELAND, Tenn.- Using a balanced scoring attack, the Lee University men's basketball team held off a tough Mississippi College squad 72-60 in the quarterfinals of the Gulf South Conference tournament Tuesday night inside Walker Arena. Four Flames scored in double figures as Lee scored 44 points in the paint to earn the win and improve to 21-7 on the season.
Early on, the teams traded buckets as each team took the lead twice. MC went up 10-9 with 15:35 left in the half on a Rashad Bolden bucket, but that was the last time the Choctaws had the lead, as Lee went on 6-0 run to go up 15-10. MC didn't commit a foul for the first nine minutes of the contest which helped keep it close. The Flames managed to get the lead up to 12 at 31-19 but could never get it closer than that.
Both teams scored 37 points in the second half with MC cutting the lead down to as few as three points at 49-46, but timely shots from the Flames kept it out in front as Lee earned the win.
Neither team shot the ball well from outside in the contest. MC was 2-for-20 from long range while Lee was 4-for-15. Both teams made 14 free throws. Lee had 44 points in the paint compared to 30 for MC.
Bolden had a game high 31 points, scoring over half of the Choctaws points. Beyuan Hendricks led the way for the Flames with 16 points. JJ Barnes and Tim Vaughn each had 13, while Tariq Daughton had 10.
The Flames will advance to the GSC semifinals for the fifth straight year. Their opponent, the University of Alabama in Huntsville will be appearing in their sixth straight GSC semifinal. This will be the third time Lee and UAH will meet in the GSC championship with UAH winning 72-63 in 2020 and 54-52 in 2021.
The Flames will take on the Chargers at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University on Saturday, March 9 at 8:15 PM EST.
Coach Bubba Smith's Thoughts:
"Super thankful for everything from our administration and our gameday staff for the great production and environment tonight. The community and student support has been phenomenal, a true sixth man for us."
"It was fun game to watch with a bunch of runs and we had the right ones. We are a very complementary team and we find different ways to score and make shots. Tonight was no exception. Very proud of our effort. It wasn't a pretty win but we found a way to advance."
