SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo junior Kyran McClure scored 11 of the 14 overtime points for the Lions to lift the Green and Gold over Palm Beach Atlantic 71-68 Saturday night.

"What a finish for the guys tonight, it's always good to get a win at home in front of your crowd," Vince Alexander said after the overtime win. "After a not so good first half, we improved after the break and fought to tie things up late in regulation. Having our leaders step up and take over late in the game is how we are going to win ball games toward the end of the season."
 
Saint Leo (9-10, 6-5 SSC) saw Kyran McClure score 27 points on the night, with 11 coming in the final five minutes of overtime. McClure dished out five assists, grabbed four rebounds and notched four steals, including one at the end of regulation. As a team, the Lions turned a cold first half, 29-percent shooting from the field, into a warmer second half, 40-percent shooting. Saint Leo finished the night shooting 36.4-percent after adding a 3-for-5 mark in the overtime period. The Lions won the battle of the boards hauling in 41, 24 defensive and 17 offensive, to the Sailfish's 37. 
 
Junior Searcy joined McClure in double-figures with 12 points where Isaiah Hill and Gintaras Bartaskas were close with nine and eight, respectively. Despite finishing the game with no steals, Hill forced the Sailfish to take some poor shots in the overtime period allowing the Green and Gold to have the advantage. Tyler Carter filled the statline with seven points, five rebounds, three steals and one assists. Searcy added six rebounds and three blocks and assists to his credit on the night. 

Alexander went on to state, "We can't always put things on Kyran [McClure], but he knew once he got that steal at the end of regulation it gave us a chance in overtime. He was working hard and scoring at will in the first few minutes of overtime, so we kept going back to him, and he kept us ahead."
 
Alexander continued, "We will take the overtime win tonight, but we know we have a lot of work to get done Monday and Tuesday before we host Eckerd on Wednesday."
 
Palm Beach Atlantic (8-11, 4-7 SSC) had four in double-figures for the second straight game, led by Jules Jasmin and De'Ondre Jackson at 14 points. Malek Barber added 11 and Bakari Warthen 10.
 
How It Happened

• Saint Leo opened the game with a quick start running out to a 7-2 lead with 16:32 to go after Tyler Carter started things off with a quick jumper followed by an Isaiah Hill drive and slam dunk. Carter added a three to put the Lions ahead.
• Palm Beach Atlantic would use a 6-1 run to tie things at 8-8 with 13:08 left in the half.
• The Lions would claim a four-point lead, 13-9 and 15-11, before the Sailfish once again tied things at 15-15.
• After PBA claimed an 18-15 lead, the Kyran McClure drove to hole and laid it in, finishing the and-one opportunity to tie things at 18 all.
• PBA would take a 30-22 lead with 58-seconds left before McClure found himself at the line for two free throws to end the first half, 30-24 in favor of the Sailfish.
• Saint Leo would come out and tie things at 32 with 16:42 to play before Kyran McClure drained two threes to push the Lions ahead, 38-34.
• Trailing 41-38, Junior Searcy would hit a long to cut it to 41-38 before Gintaras Bartaskas nailed one to allow the Green and Gold to go ahead, 44-41.
• The two teams would play neck and neck heading down the stretch where both teams made runs and the other tied it. With 1:18 to play, PBA led 57-54 before Kyran McClure laid it in and converted the and-one to make it 57.
• PBA had the ball with seconds left before a steal from McClure almost sealed the game but couldn't get a shot off, sending the game to over time, tied 57-57.
• In overtime, Kyran McClure put the team on his back scoring the first 11 points for the Lions. Running time off the clock and driving the ball, McClure helped push the Lions ahead 68-64 with 55-seconds remaining.
• Tyler Carter converted two free throws to make it 70-66 before PBA laid it in to make it a two-point game, 70-68.
• With an attempt to tie or take the lead at the buzzer, the Sailfish would cough up the ball into Rusty Moorer's hands and send him to the free throw line, where he would go 1-for-2 extending the lead to its final, 71-68.

Up Next
Saint Leo will remain at home and take on Eckerd at 7:30 pm Wednesday evening inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
 
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.