Men's Basketball Dec 03, 2019

Lions Ledger: Lions Tango with Mocs Wednesday

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Saint Leo (4-3, 1-0 SSC) clinched a 81-79 overtime decision over Flagler before the Thanksgiving break. Alani Gallagher notched her fourth double-double of the season scoring 20 points and 13 rebounds. The junior forward added two blocks as the Sunshine State Conference's block leader with 11 (1.6 average/game). Alex Button's work on the line sent the game into overtime. Casey O'Shaughnessy's good jumper tied the game at 79-79 with 51 seconds remaining. Gallagher's block gave the ball back to the Lions. With four seconds left, Button sunk the game-winning jumper.
Button paces the 2019-20 Lions scoring with an average of 13.9 points per game. She enters the week shooting 52.5 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from downtown, and 74.1 percent from the charity stripe. Off the iron, she averages 6.6 rebounds a game.
Gallagher leads the Green and Gold off the window with 9.1 rebounds per game. The junior forward has pulled down 46 defensive rebounds alongside 18 offensive rebounds. On the scoreboard, she averages 13.1 points per game. She is joined by Amanda Ulrich at 13.1 points per game as well. The freshman point guard leads the Lions in assists with 18.
Florida Southern (4-4, 2-0 SSC) dropped a pair over the weekend, facing Northwest Missouri State (52-37) and Missouri Western (74-67).
Julia Jenike is the lone Moc averaging double-digit points at 12.6 points per game. She is followed by Mackenzie Steele with 8.9 and Katerina Pazzaglia-Khomenko with 8.3 points per game.
Pazzaglia-Khomenko leads Florida Southern off the glass with 5.3 rebounds per game. She is supported by Ashley Shells with 4.9 and Bekki Kalaydjiev with 4.8 rebounds a game.
HISTORY Last season, The Mocs won the series 2-0. The foes last met on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in the Marion Bowman Activities Center in a 76-55 final. Florida Southern opened the series in Lakeland with a 68-34 win over the Green and Gold on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019.

Saint Leo enters the midweek matchup at 6-2, 1-0 SSC after a 1-1 weekend at the Terrace Hotel Classic where the Green and Gold droppd a 96-92 game against No. 7 Valdosta State and picked up an 84-63 win over New Haven. Kyran McClure led the team on the weekend scoring 75 points in two contests with a career-high 39 points against Valdosta State, backing that up with a 36 point performance against the Chargers.
McClure leads the team in scoring on the season averaging 22.0 points per game, ahead of Isaiah Hill at 12.5 ppg. Yalen Reed leads the team in rebounding, hauling in 7.5 rebounds per game.
The Lions will dip back into conference play after posting a 75-70 win over Florida Tech on Nov. 23 to open up SSC play.
On the year, the Lions are 10th in scoring offense at 75.4 points per game while they are the no. 1 team in the league in scoring defense holding opponents to 61.4 ppg.
Florida Southern hosts the Lions after hosting the Terrace Hotel Classic over the weekend, and posting a 2-0 record with wins over New Haven (84-56) and no. 7 Valdosta State (105-94). In the wins, E.J. Dambreville paced the team averaging 25.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg on his way to earning SSC Player of the Week.
The Mocs are paced by Brett Hansons' 21.3 ppg while four other players join him in double-figure averages - Jalyn Hinton, E.J. Dambreville, Jair Rodgers, and Jack Rauch. Hinton leads the team in rebounds averaging 11.0 per game.
FSC enters SSC play with a 1-1 record after a conference opening loss to Embry-Riddle (106-95), bouncing back with a 80-74 win over Barry.
On the year, the Mocs are fourth in scoring (89.7 ppg) in the league and ninth in defense (77.6 ppg).
HISTORY Head-to-head, Florida Southern holds the advantage 91-22 with a 53-9 record at home. Last year, the two teams met three times with the Mocs winning the series 2-1. In the first meeting, Florida Southern took the game 86-83 in Lakeland before the Green and Gold evened the series at 1-1 with an 85-78 win at home. In the SSC tournament, the Mocs topped the Lions 80-78 in the Jenkins Field House. Kyran McClure led the team a year ago scoring 30 points in game one and 21 points in game two before Yalen Reed paced the team in scoring in game three with 18.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Isaiah Hill: G; 6' 6"; Senior

#13 Kyran McClure: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#0 Yalen Reed: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#22 Alex Button: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#23 Alani Gallagher: F; 6' 1"; Junior

#10 Casey O'Shaughnessy: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#0 Amanda Ulrich: G; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Isaiah Hill
: 6' 6"; Senior
: G

#13 Kyran McClure
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#0 Yalen Reed
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#22 Alex Button
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Alani Gallagher
: 6' 1"; Junior
: F

#10 Casey O'Shaughnessy
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#0 Amanda Ulrich
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: G