SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketball defeated Embry-Riddle, 75-60 in wire-to-wire fashion to complete the season sweep of the Eagles Sunshine State Conference play. After 48-seconds of scoreless basketball, the Lions claimed the lead at 19:12 in the first half and never looked back, leading for the remaining 39:12 of the game to pick up the win Saturday night in the Marion Bowman Activities Center. 
 
DeAndre King notched his first double-double of the season with 24 points and 14 rebounds. King would catch fire in the second half after shooting 1-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half. King went 7-for-8 in the second half to finish at 8-of-13. From the 17:36 mark in the second half to the 5:19 mark, King would go 7-for-7 from downtown to propel the Lions to the win.
 
"I think this was the best overall executed game we've played all season, offensively and defensively," Head Coach Vince Alexander stated after the win Saturday. "To not only play defensive as a team, but to have DeAndre King shoot the way he is capable of shooting, it's nice to see. I am especially proud of them all for stepping up tonight in the absence of some players but they did a great job tonight."
 
Junior Searcy recorded his fourth straight double-digit scoring night of the season with 19 points where Kyran McClure dished out a career-high 11 assists in the win for the Lions.
 
The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo 75, Embry-Riddle 60
Location: Marion Bowman Activities Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 10-14, 6-7 SSC | Embry-Riddle 9-11, 3-9 SSC
 
How It Happened…
1H | Kyran McClure's layup at the 19:12 mark was the first bucket of the game where he pushed the Lions ahead. The Lions would play infront for the entire first half where they used quick runs to extend their lead. After Drago Popovic converted two free throws to push the Green and Gold ahead, 5-2, Saint Leo surged out to a seven-point lead on a dunk and a jumper from Junior Searcy with 15:13 to play. The Lions would use two three's from DeAndre King and Jesse Huff mixed with another Searcy slam to take a 17-9 lead with 12:08 to play. Embry-Riddle would keep within five to seven points before Daniel Duarte hit a deep three to make it 11 points, 26-15. The Green and Gold would outscore the Eagles 8-7 over the last 4:15 of play. | Saint Leo 34-22 |
 
2H | Embry-Riddle came out of the gates hot in the second half, using a quick 7-0 run to cut it to five points, 34-29 with 18:28 to play before the Lions called timeout to talk things over. Out of the timeout, Saint Leo went on an 8-2 run to take an 11-point lead, 42-31 with 17:04 on the clock. ERAU battled back to cut it to five again, 45-40 with a Joshua Hawkins layup. Following the Eagles layup, the Lions would sprint out to a 15-point lead, 60-45, with 8:59 to play after a 15-5 run by the Green and Gold. Another Searcy slam and a layup and free throw from Drago Popovic pushed the lead to 18 points, 65-47 with 5:50 to play. King answered a Eagles three with one of his own, connecting on his eighth straight three in the second half to keep it at 18 points, 68-50. The Eagles would get within 14 points with a three from Joshua Hawkins at the 3:43 mark, 69-55 Saint Leo, before King missed his first three-pointer of the second half. Kyran McClure would lay it in with 2:02 on the board to make it an 18-point differential again before ERAU used two free throws to cut it back to 16. A Daniel Duarte dunk would be the last bucket the Lions scored before a three-pointer from Koby Carolton closed out all scoring, with the Green and Gold ahead by 15 points as the final buzzer sounded. | Saint Leo 75-60 |
 
Points to Note

• Saint Leo picked up its 10th win of the season and moves to 10-14, 6-7 SSC. The win allows for the Lions to sweep the Eagles on the year.
• DeAndre King tied his career-high 24 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field including an impressive 8-for-13 mark from beyond the arc. King finished off his first career double-double, hauling in 14 rebounds, 13 defensive and one offensive rebound, for a career-high.
•  Junior Searcy scored 19 points for the Lions where he went 8-for-14 from the field as well. Searcy grabbed 7 boards, dished out three assists, picked up a steal and blocked two shots.
• Kyran McClure dished out a game-high and career-high 11 assists in the win where he scored six points, and secured three rebounds. McClure finished with just three turnovers. His 10th assist was to Jesse Huff at the 13:15 mark of the second half.
• Drago Popovic finished the night with 7-points and 7-rebounds.
• Saint Leo shot 45% (27-60) from the field with a 46.9% (15-32) performance in the second half. The Lions shot 46.2% (12-26) from downtown, lighting it up in the second half on 53.3% (8-15) shooting.
• The Lions had 6 turnovers in the first half and committed just 2 in the second half. 

For Embry-Riddle

• The Eagles fall to 9-11, 3-9 SSC after the loss.
• Three players were in double-figures, led by Nashad Mackey's 16 points. Rudy Bibb-Boyd tallied 12 points, ahead of Joshua Hawkins' 10 points.
• Mackey recorded a double-double with 10 boards to go along with his 16 points.
• The Eagles shot 31.4% (22-70) from the field including a 25% (7-28) mark from downtown.

Next Up
Saint Leo will go on a two-game road trip when the Lions travel to Tampa on Jan. 31 and then to Florida Tech on Feb. 3. The Green and Gold returns home on Feb. 7 to host Nova Southeastern.
 
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