MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Saint Leo University men's basketball was unable to hold onto its first half lead and fell in the season opener to No. 16 The University of Alabama in Huntsville Saturday inside the Trustmark Arena, 56-48.

"It was a great battle against one of the top teams in the country," head coach Lance Randall stated after the season opener. "We have a lot to learn from this game. Sunday we face a very physical Montevallo on their home court, and we need to be better with execution and need to have great energy."

Saint Leo (0-1) controlled the first half of the opener running out to a 17-point lead, 27-10 with 5:12 to play in the opening half. Alabama-Huntsville (1-0) closed the first half strong on a 17-3 run over the final five minutes to make it a 30-27 contest at the break.
 
The Lions would cling to a lead, holding a 37-35 lead at the 10:55 mark in the second half before the Chargers used a 13-3 run to take a 40-37 advantage. The Green and Gold would get within one, 43-42 after a Wade Coomer three-pointer, but UAH would extend its lead to 45-42 before going on for a 56-48 final. 

Saint Leo caused 18 UAH turnovers and converted those into 22 points. On the night, the Green and Gold scored 24 points in the paint.

Randall added, "We held one of the top-five offensive teams in the country to 39-percent shooting from the floor and forced 18 turnovers. We lost our poise in a couple of key stretches offensively."
 
Isaiah Hill paced the Green and Gold with 13 points while Yalen Reed and Gintaras Bartaskas each scored eight points for the Lions. In their Green and Gold debut, Wade Coomer and Jared Coomer scored six and five points, respectively. Reed paced the team in rebounding with eight as the Green and Gold won the rebounding battle 37-33.
 
Ala.-Huntsville was paced by Triston Chambers with 19 points off the bench while going 3-for-4 from downtown as the Chargers shot 37.5-percent from three-point range to the Lions' 20.8-percent.
 
Up Next
Saint Leo will return to action to close out play in Alabama against the GSC vs SSC Challenge hosts, Montevallo at 3 p.m. (ET) inside the Trustmark Arena. The Falcons defeated Tampa 72-64 to open the weekend Saturday afternoon. 
 
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.