CLINTON, Miss. – The Lee men's basketball team wrapped up a difficult road trip in style with a 72-55 thumping of Mississippi College on Monday night.
Senior Quay Kennedy continued his tear with 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field. Kennedy scored 71 points (23.4 ppg) during the three-game road trip. Michael McGuirk was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and added 16 points while Jayce Willingham poured in 12.
The Flames shot a sizzling 60.5 percent from the field in the contest and went 14 of 22 (63.6 percent) in the second half. Lee outscored the Choctaws 44-30 in the final 20 minutes.
The Flames showcased why they are second in the GSC in team defense as they limited the Choctaws to just 37 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent from the 3-point line.
"I'm really proud of how our guys handled this week. We needed to string together some wins and doing it on the road is even more impressive," said Lee head coach Bubba Smith. "We played really well defensively all week and played some lineups and rotations that seem to be working. "Tonight, I didn't think we had the energy consistently in the first half and they beat us to a number of 50/50 balls and beat us on second chance points. We responded out of the half and made adjustments in those areas and it led to some easier offense for us."
Galen Smith led the Choctaws with 20 points. Winford Ross registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"Mississippi (College) plays hard, and they don't make it easy on you. I knew this game may have been the hardest of the week, so really proud to get out with a good win," added Smith.
The win marks the third straight road victory for the Flames as they move to 16-8 and 12-6 in the GSC. Lee topped Valdosta State last Thursday and West Florida on Saturday. The loss drops the Choctaws to 7-18 and 5-13 in league play. The Flames have won three straight against Mississippi College as the two teams were meeting for the first time since Jan. 30, 2020 due to the COVID-related unbalanced schedule last season.
Lee currently sits in third place in the conference standings with two games to play. The top four teams will host the GSC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Mar. 1.
The Flames will finally return home from the long road trip to wrap up the regular season. Lee will tangle with Christian Brothers on Thursday at 8 p.m. before celebrating Senior Day on Saturday afternoon against rival Union at 4 p.m.
