SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo men's basketball fell 92-77 to No. 2 Nova Southeastern Saturday night behind Rusty Moorer's team-high 20 points in Sunshine State Conference play inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
 
The Lions (6-4, 1-2 SSC) saw Moorer come off the bench and play 29 minutes going 7-for-13 from the field with a 5-for-7 mark from the free-throw line to finish the night with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists. Isaiah Hill and Kyran McClure joined Moorer in double-figures with 13 points apiece while McClure scored his 13 points in six minutes of action going 4-for-4 from the field, including a 3-for-3 mark from downtown and a 2-for-2 tally from the stripe.
 
"I appreciate how hard our guys battled tonight," Head Coach Lance Randall commented outside the locker room Saturday night. "Especially Isaiah and Rusty. Isaiah basically played the entire game and guarded the best player in the program and held him to just five points. Rusty has been battling something and for him to come in and be on the court that long, let alone be that effective, it's big for us."
 
Randall continued, "Playing without Kyran really forced us to play a nearly perfect second half and it was like being in a fistfight with one arm behind your back. Malik and Erik came off the bench and gave us some good stuff."
 
No. 2 Nova Southeastern (5-0, 2-0 SSC) was led by RJ Sunahara who notched a game-high 25 points, adding 10 rebounds for his double-double. Mark Matthews tallied a double-double as well with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Three others were in double-figures for the Sharks in Mikkel Kolstad (14), Connor Zinaich (13), and Matt Weir (11). Matthews fell three assists shy of a triple-double ending his 36 minutes with seven.
 
With the number-two team in the country at home, Saint Leo came out of the gates hot controlling the first two minutes taking a quick 7-3 lead before extending it to five points twice, 10-5 and 12-7, and then to eight points on a Wade Coomer layup with 15:38 to play, 17-9. Saint Leo would continue to outrun the Sharks and build to a nine-point lead, 22-13, before Nova Southeastern stormed back to tie it, 27-27, with 8:55 to play.
 
A one-possession game for the next three minutes would push to a four-point spread, 38-34 on a Gintaras Bartaskas three-pointer. NSU wouldn't shy away bouncing within two, and one before forcing a 40-40 first half with 2:08 on the clock. The Sharks would close the half on a 7-2 run for a 47-42 break.
 
An 11-4 opening run in the second half pushed the Sharks up by double-digits and the Lions would remain behind by double-digits for the remainder of the game. The Lions would get within 11 points but couldn't crack the deficit ending the game down 15, 92-77.
 
"We had a chance late; we chipped back into it and could've made it single digits, but we looked tired and exhausted," said Randall.
 
As a team, the Lions caged the Sharks offense and allowed just 92 points, which is 30 points lower than their season average.
 
Up Next
Saint Leo takes the week off before hosting Tampa Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
 
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.