MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Lee University men's basketball team built up a 42-23 halftime lead and then turned back a furious second-half comeback by host Christian Brothers University on Saturday afternoon inside the Canale Arena to post an important GSC victory over the Bucs, 69-66. The win improved the Flames to 3-8 in conference play and 7-8 overall and Christian Brothers dropped to 3-8, 7-10.
Sophomore Zach Gray turned in a career high performance of 21 points in pacing the Lee victory. He made 9-of-13 shots overall and 3-of-5 triples plus pulling down four rebounds. No other Flame finished in double-figure scoring. Dylon Chatman tallied nine points, Willie Walton added eight while Tariq Daughton and Tim Vaughn pitched in with seven markers apiece. Chatman and Noah Boler-Kyle also had four rebounds each.
The Flames shot a blistering 57% overall in the first half in building up a 19-point lead. They were even better from beyond the arc, hitting 7-of-12 attempts (58%). However, it was a total different story in the second stanza. Lee hit just 38% of its field goal attempts (9-of-24) and 3-of-8 from long range (38%). They also converted 6-of-13 free throws. For the game, the Flames still shot 48% overall (25-of-52) and a solid 57% from 3-point range (10-of-20) but 9-of-17 freebies almost proved costly.
On the other hand, the Bucs struggled mightily in the first 20 minutes before completely turning things around. They shot 28% in the first half and 48% in the second 20 minutes. They made things real interesting by converting 16-of-19 free throws and cut the Lee margin to only two points in the final minute of play.
Christian Thompson, listed at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds, was a king-sized man to go against for the Flames. He finished with a double-double, 22 points and 17 rebounds. Tane Kirisome followed with 18 points and Allen Hughes gave the Bucs three players in double-digit scoring with 12 points. However, Christian Brothers only out-scored Lee 36-30 in points in the paint. Lee produced 19 points off turnovers but the Bucs tallied 14 fast-break points to just six for the Flames.
Lee returns home and to Walker Arena on Thursday for two more important GSC contests. Auburn Montgomery will be in town for a 7:30 p.m. tip and Montevallo will be the opponent on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
Coach Bubba Smith's Thoughts:
"Proud of our guys to get out of there with a win today. We knew we had to at least have a split on the weekend, and we found a way to finish it out today. We knew they would make a run. We certainly need to finish better, but honestly we haven't been in that position much this year, with a lead that big. I thought Zach really played big for us and made some big plays down the stretch. It was good to see the three fall today. If we make a few more free throws it wouldn't have gotten as close as it did. Regardless, we will be happy to learn from a win."
