PENSACOLA, Fla. – It was the Quay Kennedy show on Saturday afternoon as the senior forward scored a career-high 39 points to lead the Lee men's basketball team to a crucial road victory over West Florida, 74-67.
Kennedy was near unstoppable going 15 of 21 from the field and 3 of 5 from the 3-point line. The Columbia, Tenn. native punctuated the career day with a posterizing left-handed slam over a West Florida defender to give Lee a 68-57 lead with 2:48 to play.
Kennedy's 39 points are the most scored in a GSC game since 2019. It also is the most points a Lee basketball player has scored since the moving to NCAA D2 in 2014.
"Obviously, Quay had a night and took the game over in the second half. He's more than capable of scoring in multiple ways and his teammates did a great job of finding him and feeding off his energy," said Lee head coach Bubba Smith. "We've been able to move him around a little more with our small lineup and he's able to get easier looks without having to create for himself every time."
The Lee offense exploded for 47 points in the second half after trailing 31-27 at the half. For the game the Flames shot a sizzling 30 of 52 (57.7 percent) from the field and converted 10 of 12 from the foul line.
"I thought we had a good start to the game tonight and a poor finish before the half. We didn't make adjustments, and I didn't like our body language and resolve at the end of the half," noted Smith. "I thought our guys responded out of the half and made a commitment to doing the little things that win games, regardless if shots fell or things were going well for each individual player."
The efficient Lee offense didn't miss much allowing the Argonauts to just grab 13 rebounds. The Flames crashed the boards for 29.
Noah Boler added 11 points in 13 minutes off the bench and PJay Smith tallied eight points and five rebounds. "Each guy that stepped on the floor tonight contributed and had an impact on the game. Hopefully we can finish the road trip well and return to Walker Arena for our last two games of the regular season," concluded Smith.
Dave Petit-Homme led the Argonauts with 12 points while Wendell Matthews and Daniel Sofield posted 11 points each. West Florida connected on 22 of 44 from the field and 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Flames improve to 15-8 on the year and 11-6 in the GSC with three games remaining. West Florida falls to 17-9 and 11-8 in league play. Lee splits the season series with the Arognauts with both teams winning on the road. The Flames lost to West Florida, 74-71 back on Dec. 11. Lee holds a commanding a 12-5 edge in the all-time series.
Lee will wrap up a three-game road trip on Monday as it travels to Mississippi College for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Flames will return home for the final two regular season games on Thursday against Christian Brothers at 8 p.m. and Saturday afternoon to take on rival Union at 4 p.m.
The Flames currently hold the No. 3 spot in the GSC. The top four seeds will host the quarterfinal round of the GSC Championship on Tuesday, Mar. 1.
