MEMPHIS - As the old saying goes, "if it isn't broke don't fix it", the Lee men's basketball team fired past CBU, 70-55 on Saturday afternoon to roll to its eighth straight win.
The Flames used the same formula that started the win streak back on Nov. 30 at Auburn Montgomery, tough defense and efficient offense. Lee shot 52.8 percent and limited the Bucs to just 30.9 shooting form the field.
Colton Blevins and Michael McGuirk led the way with 17 points each. McGuirk connected on 7 of 12 from the field, including three treys and collected 11 rebounds. Blevins was 8 of 11 from the field. Cody Jones hit three triples for his nine points and dished off five assists.
Lee jumped out to a 38-26 advantage at the half and held off a couple CBU runs in the second half to improve to a perfect 6-0 in GSC play and 9-5 overall. The Flames limited the Bucs to just eight field goals in the first half and 17 for the game.
"I'm proud of our guys effort this weekend. Our attention to details on the defensive end all weekend is what you have to do to win on the road," said head coach Bubba Smith.
Leander Ridgeway Jr. added eight points in 15 minutes off the bench and grabbed three rebounds. The sophomore appears to be finding his rhythm again after being sidelined for several games in the first semester after leg injury in the opening weekend.
"Today was a great team win. With some guys banged up and some in foul trouble, our bench really stepped up and brought us a lift, especially on the defensive end. We finished today's game a lot better than we did at Union," added Smith. "I thought we learned a lot from that game on how to execute late and finish with some tough stops."
CBU was led by talented post player Adam Dieball with 17 points. Nick Deifel chipped in 14 points and had seven rebounds while Jacob Lyons rounded out the double-figure scoring with 12.
The Bucs fall to 8-5 and are now 3-2 in league play.
The Flames will look to make in nine wins in a row as they return home to Walker Arena for a Thursday night showdown with West Georgia at 8 p.m. The Wolves defeated Mississippi College, 72-59 on Saturday and are 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the GSC.
