SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketball came up just short against No. 9/14 Nova Southeastern inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center Saturday night. The Lions saw themselves trailing by 18 points with less than 15 minutes to play before falling by just two points.
 
Saint Leo (3-6, 1-2 SSC) saw four players score in double-figures in the tightly contested ending with Nova Southeastern (6-0, 3-0 SSC). Daniel Duarte paced the Lions with 21 points while Yalen Reed added 20 points on the night. Kyran McClure notched 18 points, ahead of Junior Searcy's 15 points off the bench.

"We are proud of the fight from our guys tonight and drive to not give up," head coach Vince Alexander mentioned. "Their efforts in the second half showed adjustments and growth. We will continue to work and improve to getting better every day."
 
Nova Southeastern saw five of its eight players score in double-figures led by Connor Zinaich, who scored a game-high 23 points.
 
How It Happened

• The Lions and Sharks opened the game with back and forth action, playing to three ties early, 2-2, 5-5, 7-7, after matching each other in shots on the floor.
• Nova Southeastern opened the game up to an eight point spread, 17-9, with 15:09 to play before Saint Leo closed it to two points, 17-15 over two minutes of action, capped by Isaiah Hill's free throw.
• The Sharks continued to push the pace and climbed back out to a nine-point game, 30-21, before another Saint Leo run closed it to just three points with 10:29 to go, 33-30.
• NSU extended its lead back to nine, 43-34 before pushing it to 52-38 heading into the locker room at the break.
• The Sharks came out of the break and continued to run the court pushing the lead to 18 points in five minutes of action, 64-46.
• Saint Leo battled and cut the deficit to six, with 8:41 to play, 72-66, outscoring the Sharks 20-8.
• Daniel Duarte's cut to the hoop and layup made it a five point game, 73-68 before Yalen Reed went on a 7-0 run himself to fill the gym with energy making it 76-75 with 6:16 to play.
• Nova Southeastern pushed its lead to eight, 84-76, with 2:52 to go.
• The Lions answered with a 12-6 run with three dunks by Junior Searcy, two old-fashion three-point plays by Daniel Duarte and Kyran McClure brought the Lions to within two points, 90-88, with 9.5-ticks to play.
• The game would come down to two free throws, where Nova Southeastern went 2-for-2 and the Lions went 1-for-2 going for the three point play with 0.6-seconds to play, with the Sharks escaping the Lions 91-89. 

Up Next
Saint Leo will travel to Hampton, Va. to take on Hampton University in an exhibition game on Dec. 15 before heading to Lakeland Dec. 18-19 for the Mocs Christmas Classic. The Lions will take on Bloomfield on the 18th before taking on Cedarville on the 19th, both contests are scheduled to start at 5:30 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.