SAINT LEO, Fla. – The 2019-2020 season has finally arrived, and the Saint Leo men's basketball team is headed north to take on Gulf South Conference (GSC) foes Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) and Montevallo for the season-opening tournament. The Lions will travel to Montevallo, Ala. to take part in the GSC vs Sunshine State Conference Challenge, where four teams will embark on Trustmark Arena.
 
The Lions will be joined by Tampa, UAH, and Montevallo to open the season. Saint Leo will take on Ala.-Huntsville at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 9 before taking on hosts, Montevallo at 2 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. ET on Nov. 10. Alabama-Huntsville, who was tabbed to win the Gulf South Conference, fell in at no. 16 in the NABC and D2SIDA preseason polls. 
 
Head-to-Head with the No. 16 Chargers
The Lions and Chargers have met six times with UAH holding a 5-1 record against the Green and Gold. In the most recent meeting, in 2018 in Tampa, UAH won 69-57, where Junior Searcy and Isaiah Hill paced the Lions in scoring. Searcy netted 17 points while Hill scored 14 for the Green and Gold. Sam Orf paced the Chargers with 22 points with Seth Swalve tallying 11.
 
Three of the six games have been season openers, where the Lions are 0-3. The closest season opener to date was in 2016-17 when the two teams battled to an 82-80 finale with UAH coming out on top.
 
Saint Leo picked up its only win over Ala.-Huntsville on Nov. 14, 2015, at home in a 93-90 final with four players in double-figures led by Caleb Stewart who tallied 29 points in his first game in the Green and Gold.
 
The matchup in Alabama will be the series fourth game in the state where the Chargers are 3-0 against the Lions in the state.
 
Head-to-Head with the Falcons
The Lions and Falcons have met just once prior to Sunday's matchup with Montevallo being victorious 74-66 in 2018 in Tampa in the second game of the season. This will be the first game in the state of Alabama between the two teams.
 
In the matchup in 2018, Saint Leo was paced by Yalen Reed and Kyran McClure who each scored 14 points for the Lions. The Falcons saw five players score in double-digits led by Jeremiah Curtis who scored 17 points off the bench followed by Micah Fuller off the bench with 15.
 
Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll
Saint Leo was picked to finish fifth in the SSC preseason poll with 60 total votes including one first-place vote. The SSC basketball coaches selected Nova Southeastern University to win a second straight regular-season championship. The Sharks were the top pick following 98 total votes and eight first-place votes.
 
The 2019-2020 Lions
Saint Leo returned nine players to the 2019-2020 roster, adding six for a roster size of 14. The Lions return Yalen Reed, Isaiah Hill, Gintaras Bartaskas, Rusty Moorer, Kyran McClure, Wesley Williams, Tyler Carter, Ty Forman, and Malik Fuller. The Green and Gold added transfers Wade Coomer, Chase Villers, and Pat Strzala with freshman Jared Coomer, Erik Lahm and Luke Haasl.
 
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Lance Randall returned to the Lions after a four-year stint at Lindenwood. Randall, who has head coaching experience at both the NCAA Division II and III levels, has a career mark of 190-134 over his 11 years as a head coach including a 78-44 mark at Saint Leo.
 
Randall added Ryan Hamm, Cale Girten, and Ron Foxx to the bench this year as assistants. Hamm returned to Saint Leo as well to be on the coaching staff after four-years in Lindenwood on Randall's staff, where Hamm was a one-year assistant for the Green and Gold prior to leaving for Lindenwood.
 
Girten and Foxx were student-athletes under Randall at Saint Leo where they both return to help guide the program from the coaching side of the bench.
 
Under his direction, Randall led Saint Leo to the NCAA Tournament in three of his four seasons at the helm and helped guide the Lions to their lone Sunshine State Conference Regular Season Championship in 2012-13.
 
Next Matchup
Saint Leo will return home to host Tampa, Flagler and Georgia College in the Saint Leo Classic inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center on Nov. 16-17.
 
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. Don't miss out on the 2019-20 Basketball Pride Pass, now on sale. The Saint Leo Basketball Pride Pass gives each fan admission to all home men's and women's basketball events. For more information visit here.