SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketball made it two straight victories in the Sunshine State Conference with a 71-57 win over Florida Tech Wednesday night inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Lions saw Kyran McClure drop a second-straight game of 27 points.
 
McClure scored a game-high 27 points, going 13-for-13 from the free throw line to guide Saint Leo (6-9, 3-4 SSC) to a win over Florida Tech. McClure had just three points at the halftime break before catching fire in the second half, with a majority of his work from the free throw line, scoring 24 points in the second half.

"The guys did a great job in the second half, and our coaching staff was very proud of that," head coach Vince Alexander stated after the win. "They defended and played hard. We are still working on things to sharpen up and get better, but we shot the free throw well and we have to continue to work harder." 
 
McClure's second half push allowed the Lions to overcome a six-point deficit and go on for a 14-point win. Behind McClure, Yalen Reed and Junior Searcy tallied 10 points on the night with Reed leading the way in rebounds with nine. Isaiah Hill and Tyler Carter came off the bench and notched nine and eight points, respectively.
 
Florida Tech (7-7, 1-5 SSC) saw Derek Murphy lead the way with 18 points while RJ Coil notched another double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out of the game. Trey Schaneville gave the Panthers 11 points in 36 minutes of action.
 
With the win, Saint Leo pushes the current series to 9-2 in the last 11 meetings with a 6-1 record under head coach Vince Alexander.
 
How It Happened

• A rough start for both teams in the opening two minutes saw both squads miss their first opportunities. Kyran McClure's three with 18:15 in the first half, forced the Panthers to call a timeout after the Lions were the first on the board at 3-0.
• Saint Leo and Florida Tech would play back and forth ball with each team taking a lead before the Panthers pushed out to a six-point lead, 19-13. The Lions answered with a run to cut it to two, 21-19 with 8:35 to go.
• After FIT moved back out to a lead, Ginataras Bartaskas' three brought the game to one, 25-24. FIT answer the Lions brief run with a seven-point run of themselves making it 31-24 with 3:18 to play.
• Florida Tech would take a comfortable six-point lead at the break, 34-28.
• The Panthers came out of the gate in the second half on a run and sprinted out to an 11-point lead, 39-28 with 17:42 to go before the Lions woke up.
• Saint Leo would cut the lead to three, 39-36, after Kyran McClure, Isaiah Hill and Pape Ngom all rallied the Green and Gold to a comeback.
• Kyran McClure took over at the 12:21 mark where he drained three free throws to push the Lions ahead, 42-40, and continued with a three-pointer, and two more free throws on a Panthers technical foul, making it 46-42.
• Junior Searcy joined in the party scoring four straight points extending the lead to eight points, 56-48, before Kyran McClure went 2-for-2 to make it 10 points, 61-51, and then two more to make it 12, 65-53. 
• After the double-digit lead, the Lions would maintain the gap and go on for the 71-57 final.  

Up Next
Saint Leo will take a weekend off before traveling to Tampa to take on the Spartans at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16.

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.