#18 Flames fall short to West Alabama

Coach Bubba Smith communicates with his players on the floor. Photo via Lee Athletic Communications.

In a game that saw ten lead changes, Lee’s men’s basketball squad surrendered a 21-9 run falling to West Alabama on Thursday, Jan. 26.

After a PJay Smith lay-up gave the Flames a 54-53 lead with 5:56 remaining, West Alabama executed on both ends of the court down the stretch to clinch the road victory.

“Give credit to them, I thought they were the more aggressive team tonight,” Coach Bubba Smith said after the game. “When you give a team that many free throws, statistically you’re not going to be able to win the game. They were the tougher team tonight.”

West Alabama converted 24 of 28 free throws to Lee’s 8 of 14 from the charity stripe.

PJay Smith led the way for Lee with 18 points and three boards. Jayce Willingham was the only other Flame in double figures, scoring 15 points on 12 attempts.

There’s no time to rest for the Flames (13-4, 12-4) as they welcome rival-Alabama Huntsville (16-6, 11-5) to Walker Arena on Saturday afternoon.

“You’ve got to stay together; you can’t let a loss affect your confidence as a team,” Smith said. “We’ve done some things well this year that produces winning basketball. We have to continue to get back to those things.”

After trailing 31-28 at the halftime break, Lee responded with an 18-11 run to start the second half to lead 46-42. West Alabama responded with a 5-0 run to retake the lead, and ultimately pulled away at the charity stripe.

The crowd in Walker Arena was at a season-high of 703 attendees, a sign of the growing buzz surrounding the successful program.

“We need everyone to come back out Saturday, it’s going to be a great day, hopefully,” Smith added.