The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

January 9, 2009

Lee giving Cougars consistency

By Dave Morrison

It’s not far-fetched to say that Mountain State forward/wing Andrew Lee has been the most consistent player for the NAIA No. 1 Cougars.

A quick peek at the MSU stat sheet tells you everything you need to know in that regard.

Lee, a 6-foot-5 junior, is doing it all for MSU.

He leads the team in field goal percentage (.623).

He is second on the team in scoring (16.2), second in rebounding (6.7), second in assists (58) and is tied for second in steals (26) and blocked shots (18).

All that and Lee just might be the best defender on the team.

MSU coach Bob Bolen won’t go as far as to call Lee the team’s most consistent player, but he did use another term for his whiz kid: versatile.

“I don’t know that (Lee is the most consistent), but I do think he is our most versatile player,” Bolen said. “He defends, he rebounds, he can score off the dribble, make threes, pass the ball.”

About the only area where Lee has struggled has been at the foul line, where he is 29-of-51.

In Tuesday’s 85-70 win over No. 2 Cumberlands, Lee turned it up a notch.

He had 34 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, two steals ... if it was Christmas you could add a partridge in a pear tree. Because Lee did it all.

So much so that I would rate it as one of the top performances in an MSU game since Nate Daniels hit 15-of-17 three-pointers.

There have been some outstanding performances over the years:

n Zach Moss scoring over 30 points in four of five games during MSU’s run to the national championship in 2004.

Moss was named the NAIA player of the year and MVP of the national tournament shortly thereafter. Moss at the national tournament will likely never be topped because he dominated the event.

n There was the night Kortaa Hall hit 10 three-pointers and scored 48 and fellow wing Zane Gilliard hit nine and had 37 points.

n You could even put Lee’s teammate A.J. Pigram scoring 30 points in the second half against Bluefield.

But Lee’s performance, against No. 2 Cumberlands, was magnificent and deserves to be mentioned among the best.

“To hit 14-of-18 shots, I think it definitely deserves to be mentioned,” Bolen said. “And I credit our other four (players on the floor) for recognizing it and getting the ball to Andrew in places where he could score.”

Which was just about everywhere.

He hit both of his three-point attempts. He scored again and again inside, seemingly unstoppable at times.

Which begs the question: Does he bear a resemblance to any MSU player in the past?

Bolen thinks so.

“Dwight Anglade,” he said without hesitation. Anglade was a 6-foot-8 post player on the 2004 national championship. I thought he was the unsung hero of that championship squad.

“Dwight could guard perimeter and post players,” Bolen said. “Dwight may have been a little stronger on the boards whereas I don’t know that Andrew isn’t better at scoring off the dribble. Anglade once had a 32-point game at Voorhees. They are very similar.”

Obviously, Lee would like to follow that path to a national title.

As MSU sets its sights on No. 10 Lee University Saturday, just remember that Andrew Lee will have a big say as far as MSU’s postseason run goes, a la Anglade.

And a win over Lee will make everything hunky-dorie in Cougarland.

— E-mail:

demorrison@register-herald.com

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