DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Saint Leo junior Kyran McClure scored a career-high to help guide Saint Leo men's basketball to its second Sunshine State Conference win of the season, 88-82 at Embry-Riddle Saturday.
 
Saint Leo (5-9, 2-4 SSC) saw McClure go 5-for-9 from the field including a 3-for-5 mark from downtown, but lived from the free throw line for 27 points on the night. McClure went 14-for-16 from the charity stripe, converting most of his free throws on and-one opportunities.
 
Junior Searcy paced the team in the first half with 12 points before adding 10 points in the second half for 22 points. Isaiah Hill came on strong in the second half and finished the contest with 13 points for the Green and Gold ahead of Yalen Reed's nine-point, 10-rebound night. Rusty Moorer, Tyler Carter and Daniel Duarte rounded out the point scorers for the Lions with eight, six, and three, respectively.
 
Embry-Riddle (8-9, 1-5 SSC) saw five players score in double-figures led by Tylin Locket-Fuller with 16 points, followed by Elijah Jenkins with 14, Nasha Mackey and Luka Majstorovic with 13 and Alston Jones with 11.
 
How It Happened

• Both teams would battle tight in the first 15 minutes with the Lions gaining the lead before the Eagles tied things, but never claimed a lead. Saint Leo held a 15-10 lead before a 19-13 lead with 11:22 to go.
• An Embry-Riddle three-pointer gave the Royal Blue and Gold its first lead of the night, 28-26 with 5:22 to go. An Eagle foul would send Kyran McClure to the line but with a technical foul on ERAU as well, McClure would shoot four free throws, sinking three of them pushing the Green and Gold ahead, 31-29.
• The Lions maintained possession after the attempts and saw Isaiah Hill lay it in to give Saint Leo a four-point lead, 33-29 with 1:49 to go.
• After the Eagles took a 35-33 lead with under a minute to go, Saint Leo raced down the court and saw Isaiah Hill cut to the hoop and lay it in to make it 35-35 before Embry-Riddle's final attempt was no good heading into the break tied. 
• The Eagles came out of the break and pushed out to a four-point lead, 39-35, before the Lions ran on a 7-2 run to take a 42-41 lead.
• Saint Leo would stay in front and extend its lead to double-digits with 11:45 to play, 56-46, on a Kyran McClure four-point play.
• After moving out to a 13 point lead, the largest of the game, the Green and Gold would maintain a three possession distance all the way up to the final 31-seconds where the Eagles cut it to six points on a quick layup, 85-79.
• Saint Leo would go on for the six-point win, trading points with ERAU through the final horn, 88-82. 

Up Next
Saint Leo will return home to host Florida Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. 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.