SAINT LEO, Fla. - Saint Leo men's basketball opened up its home stanza with an 83-72 win over Auburn University at Montgomery Friday night as the second game of the Saint Leo Classic. 

Saint Leo followed suit with Sunshine State Conference foe, Tampa to open up play in the Saint Leo Classic with wins as the Spartans defeated No. 9 West Florida 81-63 to tip things off.

"It's good to come home and get the win to open the home portion of our season," Head Coach Vince Alexander stated after the win. "To be able to have our guys play the way we need, not in foul trouble, this is the outcome we expect and will work towards daily."

The Lions (1-2) picked up their first win behind a team effort with nine different players scoring. Saint Leo turned in a 50-percent shooting night going 28-for-56 from the field including a 45.8-percent from downtown (11-for-24) and 69.6-percent (16-for-23) from the charity stripe. 

Kyran McClure paced the way with 19 points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal. Yalen Reed posted 11 points and six rebounds in his home debut where Gintaras Bartaskas, Daniel Duarte and Ty Forman all scored double-figures off the bench. Bartaskas scored 14 points  as Duarte had 12 and Forman added 10. Tyler Carter came up one point shy of joining the double-digit club with nine points.

Alexander went on to add, "It was good to have multiple guys contribute but we will sleep tonight knowing tomorrow is another day and we will continue to work towards our goals and not be set on one win."

Auburn-Montgomery (1-2) saw four players in double-figures led by Carlos Bell with a game-high 25 points. 

How It Happened

• Saint Leo once again opened the game up on a run, 6-0 before building it out to a 10-3 with 16:32 to play. 
• Auburn-Montgomery would push things even at 10-10 as the two teams battled for the next six minutes before the Lions gained a four point lead, 18-14. 
• The Green and Gold would run their lead to 11 with 6 minutes to play, 29-18, before the Warhawks cut it to five, 31-26 with 2:12 to play.
• A Ginataras Bartaskas three with 27-ticks left would push the Lions lead to 12, before a last second jumper by the Warhawks made it a 10-point game at the break, 40-30 in favor of Saint Leo. 
• The Lions opened the second half on a drought as the Warhawks would chip the lead down to six points, 40-34 with 17:23. 
• Saint Leo would run out to a 53-39 lead after Daniel Duarte's three with 11:47 to play. 
• The Lions held their lead for the remainder of the game, extending it out to 17, with 4:02 to play. The Warhawks would only get as close as seven, 76-69, for the duration of regulation before the Green and Gold took the 11-point victory, 83-72. 

Up Next
Saint Leo will take on No. 9 West Florida at 4:30 p.m. to close out the Saint Leo Classic following the University of Tampa-Auburn University at Montgomery game at 2 p.m.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's basketball, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.