SE Tennessee News

The Lee University men's basketball team used stifling defense and timely shooting to pull away and defeat the Mississippi College Choctaws 75-50 on Sunday afternoon on the final game before the Christmas break. The Flames held MC to their lowest point total of the season and held the Choctaws to 32% shooting from the field. PJay Smith led the way for the Flames offensively with a career high 22 points.
 
The team traded buckets for the first few minutes of the half with neither team leading by more than two points. Then Makhi McGuire hit a three pointer to spark a 7-0 run to push the lead out to 17-7. The Flames continued to push the tempo and started to hit shots, Beyuan Hendricks and Tariq Daughton made three combined three-point shots to lead the way. Lee had another 8-0 run and a 5-0 run. PJay Smith hit a couple of circus shots and the Flames pushed the lead to 41-22 at the halftime break.
 
The Flames were 8-10 in the first half from beyond the arc. Lee also had seven players score in the first half while holding the leading scorer for Mississippi College to three points. Smith started off the second half scoring on another tough layup and was fouled. He made the free throw and pushed the lead out to 22 points at 44-22. Smith then followed that up with back-to-back threes to give him 16 points in the game. The Flames outscored the Choctaws 11-3 before the first media timeout of the second half.
 
Flames defense gave MC fits all second half as the Choctaws only managed to make two of their first nine shots in the second half. Smith continued to be lights out shooting the ball. He made two more three-point shots to give him a career high 22 points. Lee pushed the margin out to 22 points at 63-31. After that, Coach Smith brought in the reserves. Sophomore Ben Knight scored his first four points of his Flame career.
 
Head Coach Bubba Smith was very happy with the defensive effort this afternoon. "Our defense was fantastic today. Proud of how we handled pressure. MC has some of the best posts in the GSC. We went to the zone to help keep off the pressure. Beyuan and PJay play so well together and it showed today. Our bench was also great today. Good way to end before the Christmas break. We have to keep finding ways to get better."
 
MC was a season low 1-for-10 from the three point line while Lee was 10-for-20. The Flames had three players score in double figures while MC had one.
 
Lee will take a week off over the Christmas break and then will return to action on Friday, December 30 at 4 PM as they will step out of conference play and take on Lindsey Wilson College. 

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