The Morgan Academy Senators were down, but 15 fourth-quarter points by Dalton Lee helped lift them to a 48-35 win over the South Choctaw Rebels on Thursday in day one of the Morgan Pepsi Classic.

Morgan (10-2) trailed 30-28 entering the fourth quarter, but Lee scored 13 straight points for the Senators in a nearly three-minute stretch where the Rebels were held scoreless.

“He kind of took over the ball game for us right there. When Dalton gets on a roll, he’s pretty good, and he got on a roll and started shooting the ball well and playing good defense on the other end,” said Bob Taylor, head boys basketball coach of Morgan Academy. “He kind of got his game going and kind of got us going in that stretch. He kind of sparked the other guys a little bit, too.”

A pair of free throws by Joseph Watson pushed South Choctaw’s lead to 32-28 early in the fourth, but Lee answered back by hitting one of two free throws and then finished a fast break with a layup that brought Morgan closer at 32-31 with 7:04 left to play.

Lee then buried a 3-pointer and hit a mid-range jumper on the next trip down the court to give the Senators a 36-32 lead with 6:23 left to play.

Lee went on to score on another fast-break finish and a three-point play where hit a shot under the basket and added the free throw after being fouled in the act of shooting.

Ford Manderson added a 3-pointer and Trey Powe hit a runner in the lane, as Morgan pushed its lead to 46-34 with 2:35 left and put the game out of reach.

Lee led Morgan with 24 points, while Manderson added 10 points for the Senators.

Timothy Watson and Bradley Clark each had 12 points for the Rebels.

In other boys games during day one of the Morgan Pepsi Classic, the Meadowview Christian School Trojans defeated Coosa Valley 49-38.

Dylan Lawrence had a double-double for Meadowview with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Travis Stacey had 19 points for the Trojans.

Sparta Academy defeated Clarke Prep School 54-23, while East Memorial Christian Academy beat Cahawba Christian Academy 65-56, and Southern Academy won 59-54 over Wilcox Academy.

Boys games for the Morgan Pepsi Classic will resume Friday with Coosa Valley against Cahawba Christian at 1:30 p.m., followed by Meadowview versus Clarke Prep and South Choctaw versus Southern Academy with both games starting at 4:30 p.m.

Morgan will face East Memorial and Wilcox will play Sparta with both games starting at 7:30 p.m.