SAINT LEO, Fla. – For the first time in five years, Saint Leo men's basketball eclipsed the century mark, knocking off No. 19 Barry, 105-86 Saturday night in front of 885 fans in the Marion Bowman Activities Center in a Sunshine State Conference matchup.

"It's a great win against the first place team, in front of a terrific crowd," Head Coach Lance Randall stated following the win over the 19th ranked Barry Buccaneers. "As a staff we are happy for them and proud of them."
 
The win brings the series to just one game of separation, 38-37 (Barry) with Saint Leo (12-5, 6-3 SSC) improving its home record against Barry (13-3, 7-2 SSC) to 22-16. Saint Leo defeated the first place Bucs and second-best scoring defense in the SSC by 19 points. 

"I loved our mentality today," Randall commented.  "We were in attack mode offensively the entire game. After a fast by Barry, I thought we gave them trouble with our ball pressure."
 
Three players dropped 20-plus points for Saint Leo (12-5, 6-3 SSC) led by Kyran McClure's 27. Isaiah Hill and Wade Coomer each tallied 21 points where Tyler Carter and Rusty Moorer each notched 11 points for the Green and Gold. Yalen Reed led the team with 11 rebounds, just ahead of Hill with seven. McClure added a game-high eight assists to his final stat line on the night.

Randall said, "Yalen was outstanding on their bigs and controlled the glass for us. Isaiah, Rusty, and Kyran set the table on both ends of the court with a winning mentality and some big plays. It was another big assist night and our bench production was great especially with Wade and TC [Tyler Carter]."
 
In the win, the Lions shot a season-best 67.3-percent from the field (33-49) including a 57.1-percent (12-21) from beyond the arc. Saint Leo added a 77.1-percent (27-35) night from the free-throw line, led McClure chipped in 12-of-15 and Hill 7-of-11.

In the first five minutes of the game, Barry held a two-possession lead before the Lions could tie things at 11 on a Kyran McClure transition three. A quick 9-2 run gave the visiting Bucs a 20-13 lead before pushing it out to a nine-point spread with 9:18 on the clock. Back-to-back three's for the Lions, one by Wade Coomer and one by McClure, brought the game to within one, 30-29. The Green and Gold claimed its first lead in the first half on a Ty Forman layup, 33-32. The Lions quickly pushed it out to an eight-point advantage, 40-32. Saint Leo would extend its lead to 10, 51-41, on a pair of McClure free throws before the half ended with the Green and Gold in front by seven, 52-45.
 
Saint Leo came out and quickly pushed the lead to 10, 57-47, before continuing to pour it on and go up by 15-plus points for the remainder of the game. The Green and Gold held its largest lead of 24 points, 90-66, with 6:35 minutes to play on a Wade Coomer reverse layup. In the huge run to gain separation, Saint Leo saw five straight three's go in led by Tyler Carter's three. Hill would go to the free-throw line and sink two freebies to push the Green and Gold over the 100-point mark. Saint Leo would hold onto the ball as time expired with a 19-point win, 105-86. 
 
Beyond the Boxscore

• This marked the first time the Lions have scored 100-plus points in a game since 2015.
• This also marked the second-most points in a game behind 118 points in a win in 2011.

 
Up Next
The Lions hit the road and make a quick trip to St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Jan. 22 for a matchup with the Eckerd College Tritons 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.