LAKELAND, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketballs bench sparked a win in the opener of the Mocs Christmas Classic where the Lions defeated the Bears 72-63 Tuesday night inside the Jenkins Field House. The Green and Gold's bench outscored the opposition 24-7 led by Junior Searcy's team-high 17 points.  Yalen Reed paced the team on both ends of the floor with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Saint Leo (4-6) saw three players score in double-figures led by Searcy with 17 on 7-of-13 shooting from the field with Reed at 14, 5-of-12 FG, and Isaiah Hill tallying 13 on 6-of-14 shooting. Hill fell two rebounds and three assists shy of a triple-double where he ended the night with 13 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. 
 
The Lions' bench sparked a change in pace as the Green and Gold let their lead slip late in the second half but saw Tyler Carter come off the bench and grab four rebounds and score five points in nine minutes of action to help push the Lions ahead.
 
Bloomfield (4-5) was led by Kavione Green who scored a game-high 29 points where Rich Chapman chipped in with 15. 
 
How It Happened

• Saint Leo continued its season trend of running out to a quick start, claiming a 5-0 lead in the first minute of action on a Ty Forman Jumper and a Yalen Reed three-pointer.
• The Lions continued to push the ball and doubled the Bears point total at 18-9 with a Reed put-back with 13:50 to play in the opening period.
• Forman continued to help guide the Green and Gold to a double-digit lead, 29-19 with 5:22 to play.
• Bloomfield closed the opening stanza on a 14-4 run to head into the break tied 33-33.
• The Green and Gold came flying out of the break and pushed things back to a six point lead on a Reed three before the Bears tied things at 41-41 with 14:41 to play.
• Bloomfield claimed its first lead of the game at 44-43 on a three-pointer before a 53-48 lead with 11:02 to play.
• With momentum on the Bears side, Isaiah Hill and Junior Searcy connected on an alley-oop to bring the Lions to within one, 57-56 with 7:40 on the clock.
• Hill drained a three-pointer from the corner to put the Lions ahead 59-57 before the two teams played to a 61-61 tie with four minutes remaining.
• After a Hill layup, Tyler Carter decided he needed a run of his own going on a 5-0 run to stretch the lead to 68-61.
• Saint Leo would hold the Bears to just two points after Bloomfield closed the game going 0-4 from the field including 0-1 from the free throw line.
• The Lions would see four points from the charity stripe from Kyran McClure to seal the 72-63 win.

Up Next
Saint Leo will remain in Lakeland and take on Cedarville on Dec. 19 at 5:30 p.m. to wrap up play in the Mocs Christmas Classic.

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