TAMPA, Fla. – Kyran McClure scored a career-high 26 points while Drago Popovic hauled in a career-high 13 rebounds to lift the Saint Leo men's basketball past Tampa, 58-53 inside the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
 
Kyran McClure netted 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting including a 4-for-8 mark from downtown. McClure went on to add four rebounds, two assists, one steal to his stat line, while committing no turnovers in 40 minutes of action. 

"I am proud of the work the guys put in tonight on the court," Head Coach Vince Alexander mentioned after the win. "They fought hard and finally finished a game and made big shots down the stretch, which on the road that's tough. The younger guys stepped up with big minutes when called upon due to some under-the-weather players but they held their own and put us in a position to win."

Alexander went on to add, "We closed out the game and hit shots, including free throws, in the closing minutes and that's really tough to do on the road. We will enjoy the win tonight, but look to Florida Tech on Saturday as we head back into the gym tomorrow."

Drago Popovic scored eight points on the night, four of which were down the stretch in the second half, while the Belgrade, Serbia native hauled in a career-high 13 rebounds. Popovic grabbed 10 defensive rebounds with three offensive.
 
The Basics
Final Score: Saint Leo 58, Tampa 53
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla.
Records: Saint Leo 11-14, 7-7 SSC | Tampa 7-13, 3-11 SSC
 
How It Happened…
1H | Kyran McClure started out the first half pacing the Lions with six of their first eight points, as the Green and Gold held an 8-4 lead at the first media timeout. Out of the break, the Spartans used a 12-2 run to the 7:55 mark, leading 16-10. After the Spartans went up 21-19, McClure hit a three-pointer late in the shot clock to push the Lions ahead, 22-21 with 1:59 to play in the opening half. Pat Bacon would make a layup with a minute to go to make Tampa ahead, 23-22. Ty Forman went 1-for-2 from the free throw line with 24-seconds to go to tie the game, 23-23. After a quick timeout, the Spartans failed to make their final shot of the half where both teams went into the break tied. | Tied 23-23 |
 
2H | The Spartans came out and took a quick 25-23 lead on a slam dunk before Saint Leo battled out to a 36-30 advantage with 14:50 to play. Tampa tied things back up at 38, where a steal on the defensive end allowed for the Lions to make a three on the break from Daniel Duarte, Saint Leo 44-41. A free throw from Duarte and a rebound and layup from Drago Popovic allowed the Lions to take a six-point lead, 47-41. Pat Bacon would cut the lead with a layup for the Spartans, 47-43. Two free throws from Duke Shelton cut it to two points, 47-45 before Popovic made another layup on a pass from Kyran McClure, 49-45. The two teams went into the final media with 3:58 to play, Lions 49-45. Duarte would nail another three to make it 52-45 Saint Leo with 2:04 to play before the Spartans matched shot for shot with the Lions to trail by four, 54-50, with 1:04 to play. Junior Searcy would go 2-for-2 from the free throw line with 20-seconds to play to make it 56-50 before Pat Bacon raced down the court and nailed a three-pointer with 13.9 to play, Saint Leo 56-53. McClure would go 2-for-2 from the free throw line to allow the Lions to go ahead by five, 58-53 before Tampa missed two open shots at the end. | Saint Leo 58-53 |
 
 
Points to Note

• Saint Leo improves to 11-14, and 7-7 SSC after the win; completing the season sweep of the Spartans. 
• Kyran McClure scored a career-high 26 points on 10-19 shooting including four rebounds, two assists and one steal. 
• Drago Popovic scored eight points on the night while grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds, 10 defensive. 
• As a team, the Lions shot 41.5% (22-53) from the field including a 33.3% (7-21) from downtown and 63.6% (7-11) from the charity stripe.

For Tampa

• Tampa falls to 7-13 and 3-11 SSC after the loss. 
• Duke Shelton recorded a double-double with 18 points and 19 rebounds, 10 defensive. Shelton added four blocks on the night. 
• Pat Bacon scored 19 points and Marcel Robinson scored 13 points. 

Next Up
Saint Leo remains on the road as the Lions travel to Melbourne to take o Florida Tech on Feb. 3. The Green and Gold returns home on Feb. 7 to host Nova Southeastern.
 
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