Ryan Montgomery dropped 28 to open his senior season
The Lee men’s basketball team got off to a quick start against Palm Beach Atlantic in the opening round of the GSC/SSC Challenge but had to weather a couple of second-half challenges from the Sailfish before posting an 83-80 victory on Friday afternoon.
It was the season opener for both clubs and the Flames will be right back in action on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Embry-Riddle University. The Eagles rolled over tournament host West Georgia in Friday’s finale, 85-60.
Senior Ryan Montgomery played the leadership role in Lee’s win.
He finished with 28 points and five rebounds, making 7-of-11 shots from the field, 5-of-6 from behind the arc and 9-of-10 free throws. Kentrell (Duke) Evans helped get the Flames off to a quick start and was joined by Josh Lowe. Evans tallied 15 points and finished with a double-double by dishing off 10 assists. Lowe did most of his damage in the first half, totaling 13 points and also pulling down five rebounds.
Senior Parker Suedekum had eight points and four assists. “Parker does a lot of things that do not show up on the stat sheet. He does an excellent job of running our basketball team,” said Lee head coach Bubba Smith. Quay Kennedy joined red-shirt freshman Josh Willingham in tallying key buckets to help preserve the win. Kennedy had eight points and Willingham finished with six.
Dan Largey was a huge force for the Sailfish. He powered his way inside for 19 points. Jules Jasmin totaled 15 and Darhius Nunn added 14 in the loss. “Palm Beach was very aggressive in the second half. They were not an exceptionally tall team but very physical,” noted Coach Smith.
The Flames shot a solid 54 percent from the field and 46 percent from beyond the arc. Palm Beach shot 48 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. Free throws helped determine the outcome with the Sailfish being just 16-of-27 while the Flames knocked down 16-of-21. Lee was guilty of 12 floor mistakes and the Sailfish 15.