Flames defeat Bulldogs Thursday night on the court
The stakes were high as the Lee Flames basketball team played their conference rival, Union University, but claimed victory against the bulldogs, 76-65.
Photo courtesy of Go Lee Flames.
Thursday night's game was high stakes as the Flames basketball team was up against Union University's Bulldogs, their conference rival in the Gulf South Conference (GSC). While the Bulldogs took the first meeting, the Flames pulled through this time around, giving them a victory against Union as they won 76-65.
The Flames wasted no time scoring points that put them in the lead in the first minutes. Starting point guard Parker Suedekum owned the court, scoring 22 points total in the game.
“My teammates found me tonight,” said Suedekum. “It’s a different guy who [scores the most] every night, but the shots just came my way, and I hit them.”
As it was one of the last games before the Flames enter the GSC tournament, the Flames were eager to boost their conference standings and earned a well-deserved win. The Flames are now standing at 14-12, giving them extra confidence as they prepare for the GSC tournament.
Head Coach Bubba Smith said the team had a “defensive mindset” to drive them to the win against Union.
“We wanted to play hard and help each other,” said Smith. “We did a really good job of deflecting shots but also defending as a unit.”
During the second half, the Bulldogs began to catch up on the Flames, who were leading 35-26. Union pulled the game to two points with 15:17 remaining on the clock, according to Go Lee Flames.
Despite that pull, the Flames were able to break the gap again, ending the game with a 76-65 distance between themselves and Union.
Ryan Montgomery and Cody Jones each added points to the scoreboard, with Montgomery dropping 14 points and eight rebounds and Jones grabbing five to six from the court.
Coach Smith placed his defensive leaders—Montgomery, Smith and Suedekum—on the court to help lead the team with their different set of strengths.
“For [Jones], he has shot the ball the best he ever has this season, so he gives the team a lot of offensive confidence,” Smith said. “[Montgomery] and [Suedekum] have defensively been our leaders on the floor. We are trying to empower their voice to get our team to play really hard.”
While the Flames have another victory under their belt, the season is not over yet, as an anticipated rival game will be held in Walker Arena next Thursday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. against Shorter University.
