SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo University men's basketball fought the Lynn University Fighting Knights for two hours and 11 minutes, all regulation, Saturday afternoon where 62 combined fouls were called. What would have been projected as a low scoring affair at the break, the folks inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center saw an onslaught of scoring in the second half where the Lions came away with an 80-73 win in Sunshine State Conference play.
 
With a 29-26 first half, the two teams combined for 98 points in the second half where the Green and Gold edged the Fighting Knights 51-47 in the second half. Both teams turned the ball over more than 20 times where all but two players, one from each team that checked into the game committed a foul.
 
Tyreece Brice came off the bench and led the Lions in scoring with 18 points where he dished out three assists and hauled in three rebounds.
 
"I think this game allowed us and showed that we grew up a little bit on the court," Saint Leo Head Coach Vince Alexander stated after the win. "With most of our guys in foul trouble, it allowed for us to overcome adversity and learn to play the game, the way it is playing out on the court."
 
Alexander went on to state, "Jake Montgomery played a ton of minutes due to foul trouble with other players. When you see that many fouls called in a game, the outcome could go either way, as a staff we are glad our guys fought through it and came out on top."
 
The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo 80, Lynn 73
Location:  Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 8-8, 4-2 SSC | Lynn 4-7, 1-4 SSC

How It Happened…
1H | Both the Fighting Knights and Lions played the first eight minutes tight before the Green and Gold held a 12-11 lead at the under-12 media timeout, with 11:19 to play. Lynn claimed a 13-12 lead with 10 minutes to play. The Fighting Knights would build out to a five-point lead, 17-12, forcing a Saint Leo timeout. The Lions used a 5-0 run capped off by a Tyreece Brice put-back to tie things at 17-17 with 5:43 to play. After Lynn took a 22-19 into the final media timeout, Saint Leo fought back to take a two-point lead, 24-22, as Junior Searcy found Jesse Huff at the top of the arc for a three-pointer. Both teams would play to a 26-26 tie before Tyreece Brice found Jake Montgomery for a three to allow the Lions to hold a three point lead at the break. | Saint Leo 29-26 |
 
2H | Lynn came out of the break and kept things close before claiming a one point lead, 30-29 before the Lions opened it up to eight points at the first media timeout, with 15:34 to play, capped off by a 5-0 run, off of a Tyreece Brice three-pointer and a Kyran McClure layup. Lynn would chip away at the lead to make it a four point game, 40-36 before Saint Leo pushed it back out to seven points, 43-36 on a Jesse Huff corner three. The Green and Gold would hold no less than a four-point lead heading into the 10:48 media timeout with a six-point advantage, 47-41 after Drago Popovic laid it in. The Fighting Knights used an 8-2 run to tie things at 49-49 before the Lions claimed a 55-51 lead with a 6-2 run of their own. Both teams would play close before the Lions could claim a nine-point lead, 62-53. The Green and Gold moved past the 10-point margin with an alley-oop from Kyran McClure to Isaiah Hill to make it 64-54 before heading into the final media timeout up eight, 64-58 with 3:30 to play. The Fighting Knights would go cold as the Lions warmed up holding a larger than six-point lead before an Isaiah Hill three with 56-ticks left made it an 11-point game, 72-61. The Lions would go on for the seven-point win, finished off with free throws from Kyran McClure, four, and Junior Searcy, two. | Saint Leo 80-73 |
 
Points to Note

• The Lions move to 8-8, 4-2 SSC after the win.
• Saint Leo shot 82.1% (23-28) from the free throw line while shooting 47.2% (25-53) from the floor and 46.7% (7-15) from downtown.
• Tyreece Brice's 18 points moved him to 994 in his Saint Leo career. Brice shot 5-for-9 from the field including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
• Junior Searcy, Kyran McClure and Jesse Huff all added double-digits on the night where Searcy added 15, McClure 11 and Huff 10. Huff's 10 points marks his career-high.

For Lynn

• Lynn moves to 4-7, 1-4 SSC after the setback.
• Rasheed Worrell and Jamal Palmer paced the team with 21 points each.
• The Fighting Knights won the rebounding game, 35-33, while forcing 20 turnovers to the Lions' 21.

Saint Leo will welcome in No. 19 Southern New Hampshire into Marion Bowman Activities Center for a 2 p.m. game to close out the month of December and 2017.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's basketball, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.