CLEVELAND, Tenn.-The No. 24/21 Christian Brothers University Bucs built a commanding 21-point lead early in the second half and held on for dear life in a 73-70 win at Lee Thursday night in the Gulf South Conference opener.

The Bucs (3-1, 1-0 GSC) led for nearly the entire game, using a 20-8 run over the final 10 minutes of the first half to open a 39-23 lead on a pair of Sidy Sall (Dakar, Senegal/Seeds Academy) free throws with 57 seconds remaining in the half.

After the Flames (5-1, 0-1) trimmed the CBU lead to 44-31 early in the second half, the Bucs used a 10-2 burst bookended by Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) baskets to build a 54-33 lead with 13:34 remaining.

Lee slowly whittled away at the lead, first with a 6-0 burst to come within 15, then with another 6-0 burst later to trim the margin to 13. A 14-3 run capped by a Chase Cullen layup with 1:33 remaining drew them within 68-63, but Trey Casey (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) answered with a layup and the Bucs made three of four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

Sall collected game-highs of 22 points with eight rebounds, and Larkin scored 15. Ryan Fleming (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) scored 12 and dished out a game-high 10 assists, while Casey scored 11.

Cory Billingsley led the Flames with 21 points. Stedmon Ford scored 15, while Tyquan Roberts had 12 and Chase Cullen added 10.

The Bucs shot 50 percent (26-of-52) for the game to the Flames' 48.2 percent (27-of-56). The Flames out-rebounded CBU 34-26, including a 14-8 edge in offensive boards, but CBU forced 17 Lee turnovers while committing 11.

The Bucs return to action Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. as they visit Shorter. Their next home game is next Thursday night at 5 p.m. as they host Delta State.