From the opening tip the Lee men's basketball team was in complete control in rolling to a 75-36 victory over Shorter University on Wednesday evening.
The Flames ferocious defense allowed the Hawks to shoot just 25.9 percent (14 of 54) and did not allow a 3-pointer the entire game as Shorter went 0-20 behind the arc.
"I'm proud of our guys' defensive effort tonight. Our guys really set the tone early and I thought for 40 minutes we didn't let up," said head coach Bubba Smith.
Colton Blevins and Ryan Montgomery led the way for Lee with 15 and 14 points respectively.
Montgomery added 10 rebounds and three assists. Cody Jones pitched in eight points and seven rebounds. Freshman Josh Lowe came off the bench to score eight points on a perfect 4 of 4 shooting from the field.
"It was a great game to get our bench some quality minutes heading into a big weekend with Valdosta and West Florida," added Smith. "I thought Ryan was active defensively tonight early and is probably playing some of the best basketball since he's been here. Our team is feeding off his energy."
Lee was efficient offensively hitting 31 of 54 (57.4 percent) from the field and 7 of 20 (35 percent) from 3-point range. The Flames held a 37-25 advantage on the glass.
The Flames opened up a 35-14 lead at the half as they yielded just six field goals to Shorter over the first 20 minutes.
The Flames were just five points shy of matching the program record of fewest points allowed in a game at 31 set back on Dec. 10, 1965 against Southeastern College.
Tayvaughn Major was the only Hawk player in double-figures with 12. Joe Russell added eight and Frenki Lilaj posted seven points and six rebounds for the home team.
The win moves Coach Smith's club to 2-0 in league play and 4-5 overall. The Flames have now won three straight while holding the opponent to under 56 points in all three contests. The loss drops Shorter to 2-6 on the year and 0-2 in league play.
Lee will now prepare to battle conference foe and fifth ranked Valdosta State University on Saturday afternoon. Tip time in Walker Arena is set for 4 p.m.
"The competition takes on another level this weekend with unbeaten Valdosta coming to Walker Arena. We're looking forward to the challenge," concluded Smith.