The Lee men's basketball team led from start to finish on Tuesday night in a dominating 71-46 victory over Cumberland University from Walker Arena.
Sophomore Ryan Montgomery led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Chattanooga Central product electrified the home crowd with a powerful, breakaway two-handed slam late in the first half.
Sophomore floor leader Parker Suedekum added 12 points as the sharpshooting guard connected on 4 of 5 3-point attempts.
The Flames showcased why they are the top-ranked defensive team in the GSC giving up just 63 points per game through the first nine contests. Lee allowed the Phoenix to shoot just 29.6 from the field and 23.1 percent from the 3-point line. Lee forced 16
turnovers, blocked nine shots and held a 34-28 advantage on the glass.
"I challenged our team at halftime because I just didn't like our energy or intensity especially defensively but I thought we responded well after the break," said head coach Bubba Smith. "The zone really worked well for us in the second half and I think we were able to buckle down in get seven or eight stops in a row to really put the game away."
Colton Blevins tossed in 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and swatted away four shots while Chase Cullen came off the bench to score 10 points and grab five rebounds in just 12 minutes of action. Cullen was 3 of 3 from the field and 4 of 4 from the foul line.
Lee was forced to play without their vocal senior Levi Woods who was sidelined with an injury.
"With Levi being out I knew I needed to step up because he does so much for us on the floor," said Montgomery. The key for us tonight and throughout this year has been defense. It all starts with our ability to get stops and that in turn helps to create good offense."
The Flames shared the basketball on the offensive end compiling 20 assists to just 14 turnovers. Montgomery delivered a game-high five assists and Leander Ridgeway Jr. set up scores on four occasions.
"We talk about passing up a good shot to get a great shot. The character of the guys on this team allow us to share the basketball and I think the ball movement really showed through in the second half in particular," added Smith.
Cumberland was led in scoring by Will Shelton with 10 points. Juandrico Walker followed with nine points and five rebounds and Diondrey Holt Jr. adaded eight points and swiped four steals.
The Flames improve to 7-2 overall and will travel on the road for the first time in league play as they visit Alabama Huntsville (6-3, 0-2) on Saturday and North Alabama (6-3, 1-1) on Monday. Lee is off to a 2-0 start in GSC play with victories earlier in the season over Auburn-Montgomery and West Georgia.
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