The Lee men's basketball team opened up the 2017-18 season in style with a commanding 81-45 victory over Tuskegee University on Saturday evening.
Lee opened up a 19-5 advantage in the first nine minutes of the game and never looked back to cruise to the victory in its first ever meeting with Tuskegee, a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Everyone got into the act for the Flames as freshman Jason Landman led the way with 12 points and five rebounds while sophomore Ryan Montgomery chipped in 10.
"I liked how we responded this week after a disapointing showing in the exhibition game and I thought we had a good week of preparation which translated into the game," said head coach Bubba Smith.
"I thought our defense created our offense tonight and we took care of the ball and rebounded really well. Our bigs helped us settle in early and I thought Jason and Colton (Blevins) were really good for us tonight, especially in the first half."
Freshman Leander Ridgeway Jr. scored his first collegiate points and finished with nine total. Sophomore transfer Colton Blevins, senior Chase Cullen, sophomore Parker Suedekum and freshman Keaton Dotson all had eight points.
"I thought Leander was solid coming off the bench and Michael McGuirk gave us a lift as well. It's also a great benefit to be able to have veterans like Chase Cullen and Bryce Copeland coming off the bench and it's their experience that helped us extend the lead with our second unit tonight," said Smith.
Lee shot a sizzling 56.6 percent from the field and were 10 of 20 from beyond the arc. The Flames held the Golden Tigers to just 27.8 percent shooting from the field.
The Flames controlled the rebounding game with a dominating 43-26 edge on the glass and outscored Tuskegee 38-18 in the paint. Lee dished off 16 assists and committed just nine turnovers in the contest.
The Golden Tigers were paced by Travis Flagg with 11 points while Greg Boyd added 10.
Lee will turn right around and welcome Miles College to town on Sunday for a 4 p.m. tip. The Flames stay home for a mid-week battle with Tusculum on
Wednesday at 8 p.m.