SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketball cruised past Edward Waters Wednesday night, 82-64, inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Lions (7-6) saw four players score double-figures led by Junior Searcy with 17 points.
 
Behind Searcy's 17, DeAndre King scored 12 points, on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc as Jesse Huff and Kyran McClure score 10 points each. King's 12 points lifted the team in the first half before Searcy scored nine points in the second half to lead the team.
 
As a team, the Lions shot 53.1-percent from the field with a 65-percent night from downtown. Saint Leo won the rebounding title 34-28 where Drago Popovic led the team with a career-high 13 rebounds; Popovic fell one point short of a double-double, finishing the night with nine points. Huff was second on the team with eight rebounds, falling just two short of his double-double.
 
"As a staff, we were disappointed in the free throw shooting tonight," Head Coach Vince Alexander stated. "We work a lot on free throws in practice and to see us have a poor night is not what we wanted, but we will work on it heading into the weekend. On the other hand, we feel that we rebounded well and shared the ball. We work on and ask the guys to attack the glass and grab rebounds, and tonight, they were doing that. It was also nice to see all the guys get in and play minutes tonight."
 
Alexander went on to say, "Seeing Drago [Popovic] grab 13 boards, with 11 on the defensive side, is a great thing for our future. Jesse [Huff] was a nice addition off the bench tonight; he was attacking the glass every chance he could and grabbed eight boards. We will continue to work hard in the gym and prepare for this weekend at Rollins."
 
The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo 82, Edward Waters 64
Location:  Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 7-6 | Edward Waters 4-6

How It Happened…
1H | Saint Leo came out on fire going on a 11-2 run forcing a 30-second timeout by the visiting Tigers with 16:19 to play, capped off by a Drago Popovic three-pointer. The Green and Gold continued to control the opening half as they pushed its lead to double-digits with 10:44 with a Kyran McClure layup, 26-16. The Tigers cut it to four, 29-25, before two Junior Searcy layups and three DeAndre King three-pointers pushed it back to 12 points in seven minutes, 42-30, with 3:35 to play. The Lions would maintain a double-digit lead heading into the locker room at the break after both teams failed to score in the last 1:19 of the first half. King scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from downtown. Junior Searcy added eight points where Drago Popovic had seven points and seven rebounds in the opening half. | Saint Leo 46-36 |
 
2H | Saint Leo opened the second half with four straight points to push it to a 14-point game, 50-36, before the Tigers used a 8-1 run to make it a seven point contest with 14:59 to play, SLU 51-44. Saint Leo would push it back to double-digits with a three from Daniel Duarte but Edward Waters would hang around within nine points, up to the 12 minute mark trailing the Green and Gold 58-49. Over the next 3:08, the Lions used a 12-0 run to jump out to a 21-point lead, 70-49, before going to the 3:04 mark with a 23 point lead, 80-57. Saint Leo would hang on to its margin, not allowing the Tigers to get any closer than 18 points after a Robert Thomas III three-pointer with 43-ticks left. Junior Searcy added nine points in the second half where Tyreece Brice, Jesse Huff, Jake Montgomery, and Daniel Duarte all added five. | Saint Leo 82-64 |
 
Points to Note

• Saint Leo evened its December record to 1-1 and overall record to 7-6 with the 18-point win.
• Junior Searcy paced the Lions with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting including a 1-2 mark from downtown. Searcy hauled in 3 rebounds and picked up one assist and one steal.
• DeAndre King was second on the team with 12 points with a 4-for-6 performance from downtown. King picked up one assist and one steal on the night.
• Jesse Huff and Kyran McClure added 10 points, each knocking down two three-pointers. Huff added eight board, five offensive boards and three defensive.
• Tyreece Brice scored seven points while dishing out seven assists.
• Drago Popovic wrapped up his 17 minutes with nine points and 13 rebounds, including 11 defensive board.
• 11 of the 13 players that stepped foot on the court scored at least one point for the Green and Gold.
• Saint Leo finished the night with 34 rebounds, 11 offensive and 23 defensive, while shooting 53.1% (34-64) from the floor and 65% (13-20) from downtown.
• The Green and Gold struggled from the charity stripe going just 1-for-9 on the night.

For Edward Waters

• The Tigers saw Charles-Eddie Smith lead the way with 12 points while Robert Thomas III added 11.
• Edward Waters shot 50.9% from the floor with a 50% mark from the charity stripe, 3-for-6.  

Saint Leo hits the road to Winter Park, Fla. to return to Sunshine State Conference play with a 1 p.m. matchup with Rollins on Saturday, December 9.
 
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