The home crowd had plenty to cheer about in Lee men's basketball's fiery matchup against rival Shorter University. The all-around team performance kept Lee in control throughout the game, with a 76-47 finish in Walker Arena Thursday night.

The Flames great defensive effort held Shorter to 33% from the paint and 20% from the 3-point line, forced 12 turnovers, and blocked three shots. After a career high 29 points last game, junior point guard Beyuan Hendricks continued to help pave the way for the win tonight, scoring an efficient 13 points.

"My teammates are finding me in the right position and I've been able to knock down some shots over the last couple of days," said Hendricks. "We are at our best when we defend the way we did tonight. I think we are heading in the right direction and just need to continue to get better each day."

The junior filled out the stat line, leading with five assists and six defensive rebounds. Also on today's leaderboard are Jayce Willingham, Quay Kennedy, and Makhi Mcguire, adding 13, 11, and 10 points to the board respectively. 

"We defended well tonight and I particularly thought we did a nice job of buckling down and limiting their chances in the pain in the second half," said Lee head coach Bubba Smith. "Beyuan continues to give us a great effort. He's a smart player and knows how to score the basketball but I'm really excited to see the way he's been defending lately as well."

Finishing the first half with a buzzer beater layup by Willingham, the Flames went into halftime leading 33-22. And after an exciting performance by the Gym-Masters group from Southern Adventist University, the Flames came back from the break fired-up, and controlled the final 20 minutes. 

With five minutes left and a twenty point lead, Lee head coach Bubba Smith and his staff had the opportunity to play every dressed man on the team. The bench stepped up when asked, as 9 of the 11 players put points on the board and all 11 players added stats with rebounds or steals. 

The Hawks were led by their seniors, with guard Chris Brown putting up 13 points and forward Ralph Barnet adding 11. 

The Flames return to the court this Saturday, Feb. 5 to take their revenge against fellow GSC opponent, the Auburn Montgomery Warhawks. The Flames last saw the Warhawks one month ago, where they came up short in a 68-61 loss in Alabama.

"When you think about the past couple years, AUM games have always been close," said  Smith. "Our guys have probably had this game circled for a month now. They're a really good team, but our guys will be ready."

The Flames will look to avenge their January AUM loss, tipping off at 4 p.m. in Paul Dana Walker Arena.