SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo sophomore, Isaiah Hill scored a career-high 23 points in the Lions 81-71 setback to Eckerd Wednesday night in Sunshine State Conference action in the Marion Bowman Activities Center.

"I think we played two different games in each half," Head Coach Vince Alexander stated outside the locker room Wednesday. "The first half we fought hard knocked down open shots and defended on the other end. The second half, we missed open shots and defended on the other end but it's tough to beat good teams when you can't make open shots, rebound and make free throws."

Hill was one of four players in double-figures, followed by Kyran McClure with 15, Junior Searcy with 13, and DeAndre King with 11.

"We have the next two days to work on things in practice before hosting Palm Beach Atlantic, but we just have to get our young guys to knock down the shots and make free throws," Alexander added.
 
"With our youth and Eckerd's group of guys that have a ton of experience together, we knew going in it was going to be tough. Missing nine free throws didn't help, but we fought and we will continue to teach and work on the little things."
 
The Basics
Final Score: Eckerd 81, Saint Leo 71
Location: Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 8-13, 4-6 SSC | Eckerd 14-3, 7-3 SSC
 
How It Happened…
1H | Saint Leo and Eckerd played a tight first half which featured five ties and eight lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. After a few ties within the first six minutes, the Tritons would build out to an eight-point lead, 21-13 with 11:13 to play. The Lions would battle back to tie things with a 7-0 run with 7:56 on the clock on a Isaiah Hill jumper. Saint Leo would then build its own lead of five points, two times with its last at 4:02, 32-27. The Tritons wouldn't stay away where Eckerd reclaimed a lead two minutes later with two minutes to play, 33-32. Holding a two point lead, 35-33 with 56-seconds to play before DeAndre King banked in a three-pointer to push the Green and Gold ahead heading into the break by one. | Saint Leo 36-35 |
 
2H | Eckerd would come out of the break and take charge in the first eight minutes heading to the under-12 media timeout lead by 11, 54-43. After the Tritons took a 15-point lead with 10:28 to play, the Lions used a 5-0 run to cut it to 10, 60-50, off two Isaiah Hill free throws and a Kyran McClure three-pointer. Eckerd used two straight Saint Leo turnovers and a Triton jumper from Trevon Young to take a 62-50 lead to the under-8 timeout. The Lions would use a 6-0 lead to cut it to seven, 65-58 before the Tritons took a 67-58 lead into the final media before converting two free throws immediately out of the timeout, 69-58 with 3:51 to play. Despite the Lions' efforts late in the game, Eckerd would go on for the 10-point win. | Eckerd 81-71 |
 
Points to Note

• Saint Leo moves to 8-13, 4-6 SSC.
• Isaiah Hill paced the Green and Gold with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Hill added a 9-for-10 mark from the free throw line.
• Kyran McClure added a 15-point performance on 5-of-9 shooting.
• Junior Searcy finished his night with 13 points and eight rebounds, just ahead of DeAndre King's 11 points. Both King and Searcy added two three-pointers on the night.

For Eckerd

• Eckerd moves to 14-3, 7-3 SSC after the win.
• Drushaun McLaurn scored a game-high 26 points on a 11-for-18 night.
• Blake Morrow added 21 points while Trevon Young recorded a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Marco Behori added 10 points on the night.

Next Up
Saint Leo will remain at home and welcome Palm Beach Atlantic into the Bowman Center for a 7:30 p.m. tip on Jan. 20.
 
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