SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo University men's basketball team attempted to recover after a slow first half Sunday inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center against No. 19 Southern New Hampshire, but came up short in the second half to fall 82-66. The Lions saw senior Tyreece Brice score 13 points, pushing him over the 1,000 career-point mark in his Green and Gold career; he now stands at 1,007. In his four-year playing career, Brice stands at 1,173 points scored.
 
"We are very proud of Tyreece [Brice] for getting into the 1,000 point club in his Saint Leo career," Head Coach Vince Alexander stated. "For him to be able to do it in two and half years here, and become the 24^th player in program history, just shows that he bought into what we talk about day in and day out and we are proud of him."
 
Isaiah Hill paced the team with 17 points, and hauled in seven boards where Brice added 13 points off the bench. Junior Searcy and Kyran McClure chipped in with nine points each where Drago Popovic tallied eight. DeAndre King and Malik Fuller were the only other two players to tally points as King scored seven and Fuller three.
 
The Penmen used a strong opening half to get out in front of the Lions scoring 53 points on 64.3-percent shooting from the field, including a 5-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. SNHU went 12-for-15 from the charity stripe to help their cause.
 
The Basics
Final Score:  #19 Southern New Hampshire 82, Saint Leo 66
Location:  Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 8-9 | Southern New Hampshire 10-2

How It Happened…
1H | Southern New Hampshire came out firing on all cylinders as they took an early lead and never looked back. The Lions would come back from a 5-0 start to close the gap to one point two times, 5-4 and 7-6, but the Penmen would run out to a 16-6 lead with 14:20 to play off a 10-0 run. SNHU would continue to control the first half as they went into the break leading by 33 after a last second tip-in. | Southern New Hampshire 53-20 |  
 
2H | Saint Leo would come out of the break and use an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 22, 53-31 with 15:37 to go. The Lions' defense would pick up and force eight Penmen turnovers in the next 13 minutes to make it an 11-point game, SNHU 76-65. A few missed shots down the stretch allowed for the Penmen to streak together a 6-1 run to close the game out. | Southern New Hampshire 82-66 |
 
Points to Note

• The Lions fall to 8-9 on the year.
• Isaiah Hill led the team in scoring (17), rebounds (7), and assists (7) whild picking up one steal.
• Tyreece Brice joined Hill in double-figures as Brice moved into the 1,000-point club with 13 points Sunday. Brice now stands at 1,007 career points in his Saint Leo career.
• The Lions turned a first half crisis into an attempted come back after shooting 44.4% (16-36) from the field in the second half while going 4-13 from downtown. Saint Leo finished the game with 80% (16-20) from the charity stripe.

For Southern New Hampshire

• Southern New Hampshire moves to 10-2 on the year after the win, rounding out their Florida trip with a 1-1 record.
• SNHU was led by Christ Walters who scored 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field including a 12-of-13 mark from the free throw line.
• Daquaise Andrews joined Walters as the lone two in double-figures with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field.
• The Penmen shot 64.3% (18-28) from the field and 62.5% (5-8) from beyond the arc in the first half before cooling off to finish the game at 56.9% (29-51) from the field and 54.5% (6-11) from downtown. SNHU added an 81.8% (18-22) night from the free throw line.

Saint Leo will open the New Year with a trip to No. 7 Barry on Wednesday, Jan. 3, for a 7:30 p.m. tip, following the women's game.
 
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.