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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Lee men's basketball team shot 50 percent from the floor and Cody Jones recorded 27 points as the Flames ran away with their Gulf South Conference opener defeating Auburn Montgomery 74-56 on Thursday night.
 
"I was really happy for our guys tonight to put a complete game together," said Head Coach Bubba Smith.
 
AUM jumped out early and held a six-point lead with 10:54 to go in the first half before Lee began to chip away at the lead.Kentrell Evans jumper with 2:59 left in the half put the Flames ahead for good at 33-32. They would end the half on a 7-2 run to take a 40-35 lead into the half.
 
The Flames shot a sizzling 55 percent from the floor in the first half and were 5-12 from behind the 3-point arc.
 
Lee came out and continued the hot shooting starting the half on a 12-2 run to stretch the lead to 52-37. The Flames eventually stretched it to their largest lead of the night 69-43 on a good three pointer by Cody Jones.
 
"We knew defensively we would have to be a lot better in the second half and our guys responded out of the locker room with a number of key stops and really good execution the first few possessions," continued Smith.
 
To go along with the 27-points Jones recorded five rebounds. Ryan Montgomery had 16 points and five boards with a block. Colton Blevins had 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists while Quay Kennedy rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points. Parker Suedekum was known on the offensive side of the ball dishing out 10 assists on the night.
 
"I thought Cody Jones and Quay Kennedy gave our team a lot of confidence on the offensive end in the first half. They made open shots and a lot of them were created for them by Parker (Suedekum) and Duke (Evans), who did a great job finding their teammates. Ryan and Colton were really efficient around the basket and they did a great job of attacking the rim," praised Smith.
 
Coach Smith's squad was able to force 15 turnovers and outscore the hosts 22-4 on points off turnovers and outscoring the WarHawks 34-26 in the paint.
 
AUM was paced by Carlos Bell with 18 points while Aaron Reddick posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
 
The Flames shot a red-hot 50 percent from the floor for the contest including 9-24 from three-point range. Jones shot 10-13 overall and 6-9 from distance while Kennedy came off the bench and provided a spark for Lee shooting 4-5 from the floor including 2-3 from behind the three-point line.
 
"Overall a good road win which are hard to get in the GSC," concluded the Lee head coach.
 
Lee will be back in action on Saturday as it takes on rival Shorter on Saturday from Rome, Ga. at 4 p.m. The Flames will be back in Walker Arena on Saturday Dec. 8 against Martin Methodist at 4 p.m.