CLEVELAND, Tenn. –  It was a defensive showcase as the Lee University men's basketball team held the University of West Alabama to their lowest point total in two years as the Flames ran away and beat the Tigers 77-51 on Saturday afternoon. Lee had 18 assists to only 10 turnovers in the win as Dayveun Anderson had the most assists in a game this season. The Flames gave UWA only their third loss of the season as they fell to 18-3. Meanwhile Lee improved to 9-9 overall and 7-8 in Gulf South Conference action.
 
It was a defensive struggle for the first nine minutes of the contest. The Flames finally managed to go on a 10-0 run over a 7:48 period. Lee went up 14-3 at that point and never looked back. The lead got to as big as 14 in the first half and the Flames ended the half on another 6-0 run to lead 33-19.
 
The second half was more of the same as Lee had an early 8-0 run which essentially finished off the Tigers. UWA scored a few points later but never got it closer than 20 points after that point. The Tigers made a couple of three late but Lee led by as many as 28 points in the second half for the 77-51 win.
 
Ten different Flames scored in the win. Reese Frazier had a career high nine points while Nic Hyche scored his first career point. Ben Ritger led the way with 16 points while Willie Walton had 15. Jamarcus Wilkins added ten. 
 
Lee shot 52.9% from the field and held UWA to just 31%. The Flames had 40 rebounds and held the Tigers had 32. Lee managed to score 18 points off of the Tigers turnovers.
 
Lee will head on the road next week to take on Valdosta State University on Thursday, February 5 at 8 PM.
 
Coach Bubba Smith's Thoughts:
"Really proud of our guys in the turnaround from Thursday. Our guys had a great will to win today. We did a great job on the defensive end and on the glass. UWA is the top rebounding team in the league and we controlled it well. We have challenged Dayveun Anderson having him guard the top guy on the other team. Tonight he set the tone for our team."