CELEVLAND, Tenn. – The Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks men's basketball team (2-6, GSC: 0-2) was tied at 31-31 with the Lee (Tenn.) University Flames (5-1, GSC: 2-0) at the end of the first half, but a 50-point second half gave Lee the 81-73 win on Saturday afternoon from the Paul Dana Walker Arena.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Five different Warhawks found the scoreboard early, but the Flames grabbed a 15-10 lead midway through the first half. Lee pushed its lead to 20-14, behind a three-pointer from Willie Walton, sending teams into a media timeout at the 7:03 mark.
 
Not long after the break, Max Ogbalet-Ndiaye buried a triple to trim AUM's deficit to 22-19. Each team added two more points before the media timeout at 3:43, with the Warhawks down by one.


Colby Williams hit a jumper after the pause, giving AUM their first lead of the day. Lee quickly responded with a Tylon Chatman three-point field goal, flipping the 27-25 advantage back to the Flames.
 
Ti'Avian Scruggs and Devin Barksdale provided consecutive buckets to put the Warhawks back in front, and Marius Canery added a layup with just 25 second left on the clock, giving AUM a 31-28 lead.
 
With two seconds remaining, Lee's Chatman hit another trey, sending the game to halftime tied at 31.
 
Second Half
Both teams came out of the locker room battling, but it was another Chatman three-pointer the gave the Flames a 36-33 lead and a burst of momentum. Lee would not trail again, pouring in 50 second-half points.
 
Barksdale sparked AUM midway through the half, draining back-to-back threes to trim the deficit to 65-47 with under nine minutes remaining.
 
In the closing minutes, Canery and Chappelle Whitney each connected from long range to pull the Warhawks within nine, but despite the late push, the Flames held firm to secure an 81-73 victory on its home floor.

NOTABLES

• Barksdale, Canery, and Doyle each finished in double figures.
• AUM posted 13 steals compared to Lee's five.
• The Warhawks tallied 40 points in the paint, 34 off the bench, and 18 off Flames turnovers.
• Lee's Tylon Chatman and Dayveun Anderson tied for the game high with 17 points apiece.
• The Flames shot 10-of-21 from three-point range (47.6%).

 
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will head to Jacksonville, AL on Sunday for an exhibition game against the Jax State Gamecocks at 4 p.m. 
 
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