CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The No. 5-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season in a 71-70 setback at Lee Saturday afternoon.  VSU fell to 9-1 on the year and 2-1 in Gulf South Conference play, while Lee improved to 5-5 and 3-0 in league play.
 
The Blazers shot just 41 percent for the game on 25 of 61, while going 7 of 25 from beyond the arc and 13 of 15 from the line.  Senior Beau Justice had a team-high 17 points leading four Blazers in double figures on 7 of 15 from the field with three triples.  VSU had an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers in the game, leading to a 20-17 lead for Lee in points off miscues.  Senior Greg Zuppas had a team-high seven rebounds for the Blazers.
 
Lee was led by Ryan Montgomery with a game-high 21 points as the Flames shot 50.9 percent from the field on 29 of 57, while going 4 of 14 from range and 9 of 12 from the line.  Montgomery was money from the field, going 10 of 11 with his only miss being his only 3-point attempt as he went 1 of 2 from the line and tied Colton Blevins with a team-high nine rebounds.  Blevins added 17 points for the Flames.
 
VSU led by as many as eight in the second half and trailed by one at halftime as both teams scored 39 points in the final frame.  Lee led by three in the first half for its largest lead.  VSU pulled within one at 71-70 on a bucket from senior Desmond DeRamus, but a costly turnover with six seconds left after the Blazers had secured a defensive rebound potentially could have changed the outcome. 
 
Earlier, Justice hit a jumper with 3:16 left for a 64-63 lead for VSU, but an emphatic dunk at the other end put Lee up for good.  VSU cut the deficit to one on three occasions late, but was unable to get the go ahead score.
 
VSU continues on the road Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET at Alabama Huntsville, before the Christmas holiday and will return home to host Emmanuel College on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. at The Complex.  Check back with vstateblazers.com.