MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketball dropped its second straight game to a top-25 team in the nation, as the Lions fell 79-63 to No. 7 Barry inside Sunshine State Conference action in the Health and Sports Center.
 
Tyreece Brice, DeAndre King and Isaiah Hill combined for 42 of the Lions' 63 points in the loss to the Buccaneers.

"On the road and against an opponent that requires experience to beat, if your team believes they can't win, it hurts you in the game," Saint Leo Head Coach Vince Alexander mentioned after the loss to Barry. "Tonight, at times our youth and lack of experience showed and it got us behind. We fought and got within two points in the second half, but a huge run from Barry took the air out from underneath us. Being young and inexperienced, we couldn't come back from that against a talented team."
 
"With a week between games, we will get in the gym and work on the things to prepare for Florida Tech."
 
The Basics
Final Score:  #7 Barry 79, Saint Leo 63
Location:  Health and Sports Center | Miami Shores, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 8-10, 4-3 SSC | Barry 10-1, 6-0 SSC

How It Happened…
1H | Barry opened the game with a 4-2 lead heading to the 16:04 mark before the Lions tied it at 4-4 on an Isaiah Hill jumper. On a Junior Searcy jumper at 14:47, Saint Leo took the lead for the next eight minutes before a three-pointer from Elvar Fridriksson pushed the Bucs ahead, 22-20. The Bucs continued to push the pace as the Lions hit a dry-spell falling behind by as many as eight, 31-23 with three minutes to play in the opening half. The Lions closed the half with a Jesse Huff layup and two Tyreece Brice jumpers. | Barry 37-31 |  
 
2H | The Bucs came out of the break and used two quick buckets to get out in front by 10, 41-31, before the Lions slowly chipped away at the deficit and cut it to just three, 52-49 with 9:57 to play on a DeAndre King and-one opportunity. Saint Leo would close to within two, 54-52, off a King three-pointer before the Bucs flew out on a 12-0 run to take a 66-52 lead into a Green and Gold timeout. Barry continued to push the pace and took a 70-55 lead into the final media timeout with 3:39 to play, before keeping a double-digit margin and going on for the 16-point victory. | Barry 79-63 |
 
Points to Note

• The Lions drop their second straight game, moving to 8-10 on the year.
• Tyreece Brice paced the team with 17 points on 8-16 shooting from the field. Brice stands at 1,024 points in his Green and Gold career.
• DeAndre King tallied 14 points on 5-17 shooting from the field with a 3-12 mark from downtown. Isaiah Hill added 11 points on a 4-9 performance from the field.
• Pape Ngom led the team on the glass with eight rebounds

For #7 Barry

• Barry maintains its perfect mark in the SSC at 6-0 and moves to 10-1 on the year.
• Elvar Fridriksson scored 32 points to pace the Bucs on a 12-18 performance from the field. Fridriksson added three three-pointers and five free throws on the night. Fridriksson finished two assists shy of a double-double, ending the game with eight assists.
• Johannes Dolven rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Daniel Mortensen led the team with a game-high 10 rebounds.
• The win gives the Bucs a 36-35 series edge over the Lions.

Saint Leo will take a weekend off before returning to the hardwood on January 10th at home against Florida Tech. The Lions and Panthers are expected to tip roughly at 7:30 p.m.
 
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