Lee's last-second heroics lifts the Indians past East Central

The Indians used some last-second heroics to close the 2011 half of the season winning three out of four of their final games of the year with a 68-66 victory over East Central.

Freshman Deontaye Ewing (Tupelo) knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Indians their first lead of the night 56-54 at the 2:29 mark of the second half. The two teams traded baskets until East Central guard Cordarion Nichols tied the game at 66 with a pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds left in the contest.

Following a timeout, freshman Quintin Lee (Ripley, TN) raced the length of the floor for a game-winning lay-up just before the final horn sounded allowing the Indians to pick up the thrilling two-point victory.

"This was the way we were hoping to be able to turn things around heading into the break," said Coach Marty Cooper. "We got off to a slow start, but the guys kept fighting week in and week out to get better and hopefully this will give us a lot of momentum going into the second half of the season."

Ewing finished with a team-high 17 points, Lee added 15 points and sophomore Nick Moncure (Jackson) scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the victory.

The Indians have won three out of their last four games and will have Parade All-American and Mississippi State transfer DJ Gardner (Okolona) eligible to play after the Christmas break.