SAINT LEO, Fla. - In the Saint Leo Classic finale, Saint Leo rallied in the second half to take down No. 9/12 West Florida 69-65 inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center Saturday afternoon.

Saint Leo (2-2) ended the weekend with a 2-0 record to finish with the best result at the classic. West Florida (2-2) finished its trip to the Bowman Center with an 0-2 record where the other two teams in the tournament each finished with a 1-1 record, Tampa and Auburn-Montgomery. In the first game of the day, the AUM Warhawks (2-2) defeated the Tampa Spartans (3-1) 72-69.

"It was a good win and a good way to start play at home," Head Coach Vince Alexander mentioned outside of the locker room Saturday evening. "With a slow start to the season, and to today's game, it was good that the guys listened and bought into what we [coaching staff] said and we came out on top."

Kyran McClure paced the Green and Gold with 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting including a 3-of-5 mark from beyond the arc. Junior Searcy and Tyler Carter joined McClure in double-figured with 11 points each where Isaiah Hill chipped in with seven points. It was the spark off the bench in Ty Forman who helped the Lions surge in the second half to overcome the deficit. Forman hauled in a team-high six rebounds, five in the second half. 

West Florida saw three players in double-digits led by Maxwell Benoit who notched 15 points. 

Alexander went on to add, "though the guys showed growth and maturity today and this weekend, we still missed crucial shots and free throws to put the game away earlier. We will get back in the gym and continue to improve as we head into our next matchup with Stonehill."

How It Happened

• West Florida came out hot earning a quick six point lead four times over the first six minutes of action before pushing it to 10 points, 19-9 with 10:34 to play. 
• Saint Leo battled back to make it a 22-20 game in favor of the Argonauts after an 8-0 run with 7:55 on the clock, capped off by Kyran McClure's four-point play. 
• The Argonauts would extend their lead to double-digits again at 10 points with 4:54 to play and again hold a 12-point lead heading into the break, 38-26. 
• West Florida started the second half extending their lead to 15 points three times with 16:20 to play, 45-30. The Lions continued to pressure the Argos and saw a five point lead, 45-40, force a quick timeout following a Junior Searcy steal and slam dunk.
• Saint Leo rallied the troops on both ends of the court closing the game to just three points, 51-48 with 10:57 to play on a Daniel Duarte layup. The Lions used four straight free throws, from a shooting foul and a technical, to tie the game at 52-52 with 10:17 to go in regulation. 
• A 12-4 run would push the Green and Gold out to a six point lead, 62-56 under three minutes. 
• West Florida closed the gap to two points with nine-seconds to play with three free throws. 
• With both teams in the double-bonus, the Lions ended the game with two free throws from Kyran McClure to make it a four-point finale, 69-65.

Up Next
Saint Leo travel to Lakeland, Fla., to take participate in two games at the Terrace Hotel Classic hosted by Florida Southern College, Nov. 23-24. The Lions will take on Stonehill at 5:30 p.m. Friday before a 5:30 p.m. matchup with Merrimack on Saturday.

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.