VALDOSTA, Ga. – From start to finish the night belonged to Quay Kennedy, Jason Landman and the Lee men's basketball team as the Flames knocked off previously unbeaten and fifth-ranked Valdosta State, 82-70 on Friday night.
The Flames scored 44 first half points behind 16 points on a perfect 8 of 8 shooting from the field from Landman to take a 14-point advantage into the halftime break. The senior forward finished the game with 19 points. Kennedy, the GSC East Division Player of the Week, scored a game-high 26 points, including nine in the final five minutes to close out the impressive road win.
"I'm really proud of the way Jason got our team going tonight," said Lee head coach Bubba Smith. "He did what seniors are supposed to do. I'm really happy to see him be aggressive and making plays for our team."
The Lee defense limited the high-powered Blazers to just 36 percent shooting from the field in the opening half. The Flames were red hot off from the tip, going 19 of 31 (61 percent) from the field in the first half and shooting 55 percent overall.
In addition to scoring the dynamic duo of Kennedy and Landman crashed the boards for a combined 15 rebounds. Kennedy had six while Landman added nine. Overall, the Flames dominated the glass outrebounding the Blazers, 40-24.
"I'm really proud of the effort our guys played with tonight. I thought we were the aggressor from the tip. They are tough team to guard, especially when they go small," said Smith.
Burke Putnam paced the Blazers with 22 points and five assists. Putnam was an efficient 11 of 15 from the field and scored 18 second half points to keep the home team within shouting distance. Jacolbey Owens pitched in 14 points and five rebounds while Cam Hamilton added 13.
Every Valdosta State second-half run however was met with a big basket by the Flames. With seven minutes left Travis Bianco drilled a triple to cut the lead to, 65-57 but the Flames followed with an 11-4 run capped off by a Kennedy 3-pointer to extend the lead to a comfortable 15-point margin with three minutes left.
"I thought our guys withstood a first and second half run and never panicked. I think our team grew and showed some maturity in a great environment tonight," added Smith. "They continue to play really unselfish basketball."
The Flames improve to 3-1 on the year with the road win. This marks Lee's second straight win at Valdosta State. The Blazers fall to 6-1. The two teams will run it back on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
"Quick turnaround for us. These second games have been a test of endurance. We're looking forward to the challenge," concluded Smith.
