PENSACOLA, Florida – You always want to get off to a quick start on the road and that was certainly the case on Sunday evening at West Florida for the Lee men's basketball team as it opened the contest on a 14-0 run and held off a couple second half runs by the Argonauts to win its fifth straight game, 75-63.
Sophomore Quay Kennedy led the charge with 25 points and was on fire from the 3-point line, going 6 of 8. The swing man from Columbia, Tenn. has now scored 25 or more points in two of the last three games.
Senior Ryan Montgomery reached a career milestone in the second half as he scored his 1,000-career point on a free throw with 18:25 left in the game. Montgomery finished with nine points in 25 minutes playing in his first game since Nov. 25 after missing three games with a hand injury.
Kentrell "Duke" Evans splashed in 16 points and dished off five assists while Josh Lowe registered 14 and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Lee also got Michael McGuirk back from injury for the first time in four games. McGuirk scored four points and had five rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
After the quick start the Argonauts settled in and cut the 14-point deficit down to six at the half, 33-27. West Florida would pull within five with 17:22 left before an Evans triple moments later extended the margin back to eight.
West Florida climbed back to within five, 62-57 with 3:16 left before Lee closed the game on a 13-6 run.
The Flames held a commanding 41-32 advantage on the glass, an area of focus of late for head coach Bubba Smith. Lee overcame a 16-9 deficit in turnover margin thanks to 52 percent shooting from the field and a season-high 11 3-pointers (11 of 26, 42 percent). Despite forcing just nine floor mistakes the Flames defense limited West Florida to 35 percent shooting from the field.
Jon Brown led the Argos with 25 points and seven rebounds. Cameron Cox was the only other scorer in double-figures with 15 to go along with five assists.
The win moves the Flames to 7-3 and 2-1 in the GSC. West Florida drops to 3-6 and 1-2 in league play. Earlier in the day the Lady Flames defeated the Argonauts, 54-36 marking the first time Lee swept West Florida in a road doubleheader.
Lee will now prepare for a GSC showdown at Valdosta State (7-2, 2-1) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The Blazers are coming off an impressive 84-62 win over No. 6 Alabama Huntsville.
