SAINT LEO, Fla. – A strong start for the Saint Leo men's basketball team proved not enough as the Lions dropped a Sunshine State Conference decision to the Florida Tech Panthers, 88-83, inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center. 

Junior Searcy paced the Green and Gold with 25 points ahead of Daniel Duarte's 15 and Kyran McClure's 11. McClure and Isaiah Hill led the team in assists with six each on the night. 

"After our strong start, the momentum shifted and we just stopped hitting shots," Head Coach Vince Alexander mentioned. "With our hot start and Florida Tech's cold start, we didn't think the game would end up the way it did. In the first half, the momentum swung and FIT took a lead into the break."

Alexander added, "We fought back after Florida Tech went up by 13 in the second half, but when you miss open shots, free throws and don't rebound, it's tough to win games. We will work on free throws and rebounding heading into the weekend while we look to protect the ball. It was a tough loss, but we will look at film tomorrow to continue to get better and look to Saturday's matchup at Nova Southeastern."

The Basics
Final Score:  Florida Tech 88, Saint Leo 83
Location:  Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 8-11, 4-4 SSC | Florida Tech

How It Happened…
1H | Saint Leo jumped out to a quick 11-1 lead heading to the first media timeout, highlighted by seven points from Junior Searcy. The Lions remained out in front by 10, 21-11, heading into the second media timeout with 11:29 to play. The Panthers would close the gap heading to the under-eight media timeout, trailing the Lions by just four points, 30-26 after a string of five straight combined three-pointers by both teams. Florida Tech would continue to streak as the Panthers tied it, 30-30, and then took a quick lead, 35-32 with three minutes to play in the opening half. The Panthers claimed a four-point lead late in the half before Kyran McClure hit a floater in the paint to cut it to 39-37. FIT hit a three-pointer to go up 42-37 with under a minute to play before the Green and Gold closed the half with a 4-0 run after Junior Searcy laid it in, and Daniel Duarte kept it alive grabbing the offensive board. Duarte would be the guy to end the half with a layup with two-ticks left to make it a one-point first half. | Florida Tech 42-41 |
 
2H | Florida Tech came out of the break and pushed its lead to 13-points, 54-41 before the Lions closed the gap to 61-60; Kyran McClure used a steal and quick layup followed by a DeAndre King three to make it a one-point contest. The Lions and Panthers headed into a media timeout with 11:07 to play as FIT was on a scoring drought for 2:55 and the Lions going 5-of-7 for their last field goals. Jesse Huff hit a corner three to tie things, 63 all, before the Panthers used a quick surge to take a five-point lead, 70-65, highlighted by a Sam Daniel dunk. Isaiah Hill would make a layup but miss the and-one opportunity before the two teams went to the under-eight media timeout, 70-67. FIT would push its lead to nine, 81-72 with 4:13 to play before Daniel Duarte drove the lane and laid it in to make it 81-74 with 3:35 to play. The Lions would cut it to four, 81-77 off a Duarte three-pointer. Despite their efforts, the Lions came up just short, falling by five points. | Florida Tech 88-83 |
 
Points to Note

• Saint Leo dropped its second straight SSC game, moving to 4-4 in SSC play. 
• Junior Searcy scored 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting including a 3-for-4 mark from downtown. Searcy added a 4-for-6 night at the free throw line. 
• Daniel Duarte added 15 points, for a season-high, on a 6-of-9 night including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. 
• Kyran McClure rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points. McClure added six assists, two steals and two rebounds. 
• The Lions shot 52.5% (32-61) from the field, 44% (11-25) from downtown and 53.3% (8-15) from the charity stripe. 

For Florida Tech

• The Panthers move to 8-8 and 3-5 SSC after its second straight win. 
• FIT was led by Sam Daniel who scored 32 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field. Daniel added a 4-for-6 mark from downtown and an 6-of-8 mark from the charity stripe. Daniel finished the night with seven rebounds, two blocks, one assist and a steal. 
• Jordan Majors tallied 20 points for the Panthers on 9-of-17 shooting with nine rebounds, two assist and a steal on the night. 
• Patrick Anderson rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Panthers with 10 points. Anderson tied with Valur Valsson with a game-high seven assists. 
• The Panthers shot 58.5% (31-53) from the field including a 52.6% (10-19) performance from beyond the arc. FIT closed the night shooting a 72.7% (16-22) from the free throw line. 

Saint Leo take to the road for its next contest traveling to Fort Lauderdale for a 4 p.m. matchup with the Nova Southeastern Sharks.
 
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