– In a nail biting finish the No. 12 Lee men's golf team placed tied for third just one shot back of tournament champions, Clayton State after Tuesday's final round of the West Georgia Matt Dyas Invitational.
Clayton State won in a scorecard playoff after tying Young Harris with a 582 total. The Flames shot the second lowest round of the day with a 291 and finished the event at 583, tied with North Georgia.
Matt Johnson (72-73-145) and Scott Odell (73-72-145) combined to lead the Flames as they both finished tied for 10th . Dylan Lillard fired a 147 total after 1-over-par 73 on Tuesday and finished tied for 17th.
Evan Spence rebounded from a rocky first round and delivered the final counting score as he too shot a 73 in the final round. Corey Sheppard rounded out the scoring with 150 total after a final round 77 to give Lee four players in the top 40.
West Georgia's Samuel Jones showcased his familiarity with the home course as he fired rounds of 70 and 69 to take home medalist honors. Newberry's Harry Bolton and North Georgia's Matt Elliot finished second with a 141.
"Today was a pretty up and down day with a few high numbers slowing down some of the good runs we had going early," said assistant coach Hunter Vest. "We fought hard all day but ended up making some critical errors down the stretch which ended up being the difference between winning and losing this week... we've got a very talented group that has an important offseason coming up."
The Flames will get some time off now before gearing up for the spring season. Lee opens up 2018 Feb. 26-27 at the Saint Leo Invitational