MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Christian Brothers University men's basketball team got off to the new year on a slow foot, falling to the Lee University Flames 70-55 in Canale Arena on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Riding their hottest stretch of the season, the Flames jumped out to a 9-0 lead through the first 4:30 minutes of the first half. Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) broke the run for the Bucs, hitting two free throws and a layup to cut into the margin.  
• After several minutes of back and forth play, Lee paired together consecutive buckets for an 8-0 run to put the Flames up 23-10. While the Bucs would cut it to single digits, a pair of LeAnder Ridgeway layups in the final minutes put Lee ahead 38-26 at the half.
• CBU turned up the intensity on defense in the second half, however. Following a 17:55 timeout from the Bucs, CBU held Lee to just four points for the next seven minutes. Over that stretch, the Buccaneers ripped off a 14-4 run that cut the deficit to single digits.
• The Bucs would maintain pressure over the next few minutes as well. After a Lee three-pointer, CBU pieced together another run to trim the Flames lead to just five. However, that's as close as the Bucs would get as Lee responded with a run of their own and ballooned the lead back to 15, their eventual margin of victory.

 
KEY STATS:

• Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) was the high scoring man for the Bucs, piecing together a 17 point, four assist and two assist performance. Dieball matched two Lee players for game high scoring.  
• Freshman Nick Deifel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills HS) had an impressive showing for the Bucs as well, scoring 14 points and hauling a team-high seven rebounds. Deifel also corralled two steals and shot 4-of-5 from the free throw line.
• Jacob Lyons (Hernando, Miss./Christian Brothers HS) has continued his strong play of late. Lyons scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and hauled in three boards with an assist.

UP NEXT:

• Christian Brothers University has a quick turnaround as they host Alabama Huntsville in Canale Arena on Monday. First tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.