SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketball held on to defeat Walsh 64-57 behind a career-high from Rusty Moorer inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center Friday night. The Lions kept the 10^th best offensive scoring team in the country to 36 points lower than its season average.
 
"I thought it was a great collective win that started on the defensive end," Lance Randall commented outside of the locker room. "That's a great offensive team and we held them to 36 points lower than their season average. We held them to 29-percent from the floor and 20.7-percent from three, which they are the second best team in three-point field goal percentage averaging around 43.7-percent."

"This team has shown some real grit and the way they've handled adversity. I've seen a lot of growing up and a lot of toughness for these guys the last couple weeks, I really appreciate the opportunity to coach them."
 
Saint Leo (8-4) was propelled by Rusty Moorer's 26 points for a new career-high going 8-for-18 from the floor including a 3-for-5 night from beyond the arc. Moorer added a 7-for-8 night from the free throw line while hauling in five rebounds and picking up one steal and one assist.
 
Randall continued, "We need him. Rusty is tough as nails, he made some big plays and had it rolling today. Definitely a guy that embraces the moment."
 
Kyran McClure added 14 points for the Lions going 9-for-10 from the free throw line, scoring all 14 in the second half. Ty Forman snagged 11 rebounds on the night to lead the Green and Gold off the glass.
 
"Our bigs did a good job. Ty on the glass as well as TC [Tyler Carter] hit shots on the perimeter and Yalen's length really bothered them."
 
Walsh (8-2) was paced by JT Shumate with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The first half was a tightly contested game where both teams held a lead in the opening 20 minutes. In a game of scoring runs, Saint Leo opened the game with a 5-0 lead before Walsh turned the tables with a 6-0 run of their own, 6-5.
 
The Lions would return the favor with a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 12-6 before another run by the Cavaliers to make it 12-11 Saint Leo. With 3:34 to play, Walsh would take a 23-21 lead before Gintaras Bartaskas hit the final field goal of the first half with 3:16 to give the Green and Gold a 24-23 lead at the break.
 
Walsh used a quick spurt of energy to claim a four-point lead in the second half, 28-24, before the Lions tied things up at 31-31 with 16:07 to go. Kyran McClure scored his first points of the game on a three followed by another quick two, to push the Green and Gold lead to three, 36-33. After finding themselves down by two, Tyler Carter hit a three to make it 39-38. Back-to-back turnovers by the Cavs, the Lions used it to score five points on a Moorer three and a Bartakas layup, 44-38.
 
Saint Leo continued to be up by two possessions, pushing the game to 11 points with 3:02 to go. Walsh wouldn't go quiet, cutting it to three points with 1:54 to play on an 8-0 run. McClure would go to the line and go 2-for-2 to make it back to a five-point game, 56-51. The Cavaliers would get a quick layup to bring the score back to three, but a free throw by McClure kept it at two possessions, 57-53, with 1:22 to play. After Walsh cut it to two, 57-55, the Lions would hold on for the 64-57 final after going 7-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch.

Up Next
Saint Leo will return to the hardwood after the holiday break on Jan. 2 in Winter Park, Fla. at 7:30 p.m. against Rollins College.
 
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.