The Lee University men’s basketball team went on a 16-1 run midway of the first half and never looked back in a 98-45 victory over Edward Waters University on Saturday afternoon inside Paul Dana Walker Arena. It marked the opening game of the season for the Flames who led 56-21 by halftime. Coach Bubba Smith used his entire bench and 10 of the 11 players scored.
Six Flames scored in double figures. Makhi McGuire made 4-of-7 3-point attempts and led the scoring with 16 points. Tariq Daughton followed with 12 points, but it was graduate student JJ Barnes who produced a double-double, 10 points, 11 rebounds that put the Lee engine in high gear. Willie Walton and Zach Gray came off the bench to score 11 points each.
Noah Boler-Kyle and Tim Vaughn brought the fans to their feet with slam dunks. Boler-Kyle finished nine points and six rebounds. Vaughn had seven points and five boards but it was Jamarcus Wilkins who also commanded his share of the glass with nine points and 10 rebounds as the Flames dominated the glass 57-28.
Beyuan Hendricks tallied 11 points and rounded out the Flames in double-figure scoring. All totaled Lee shot 50% from the field (35-of-70) and was also solid from beyond the arc, nailing 12-of-27 (45%). They went to the free-throw line 20 times and made 16. Although Coach Smith rotated players freely, the Flames turned the basketball over just 12 times while dishing off 23 assists.
On the other end of the floor the Lee coach used a man-to-man and zone defense and both kept the Tiger offense off balance. The visitors tallied only 24 points in the first half and 21 in the second. Edward Waters shot 25% from the field (14-of-57) and canned 4-of-19 3-pointers. They also struggled somewhat from the charity stripe, making 13-of-21. The Lee defense also forced 16 Tiger turnovers. RJ Noord paced the Tiger scoring with nine points.
The Flames will host non-conference opponent Carolina Christian College (Winston-Salem, NC) on Saturday (Nov. 18) at 2 p.m. before opening GSC play on Saturday (Nov. 25) at 4 p.m. hosting Valdosta State.
Coach Bubba Smith’s thoughts:
“I thought today was a really good team effort. Everyone that stepped foot on the court contributed and brought a lot of energy, especially defensively.
“I was proud of the balance we are showing and the unselfishness this group demonstrates, even in a game when we extended the lead. Those games have a tendency to get sloppy and we didn’t allow that to happen today.
“This team has a lot of potential and the ceiling can be really high if we keep improving each week.”