FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Five players scored in double-figures for Saint Leo men's basketball in a 97-84 loss on the road to No. 6 Nova Southeastern Saturday night inside Sunshine State Conference play in the Rick Case Arena.
 
"Nova Southeastern is an excellent team," Head Coach Lance Randall commented Saturday after the setback. "They turn mistakes into easy points. They are a formidable opponent, especially so down a starting points guard."
 
Kyran McClure paced the team with 24 points while Wade Coomer (14), Isaiah Hill (13), Yalen Reed (13) and Malik Fuller (11) all joined McClure in double-figures for Saint Leo (13-8, 7-6 SSC).
 
Four players were in double-digits for Nova Southeastern (16-2, 10-2 SSC), led by Eddie Puisis with 20 points.
 
Nova Southeastern controlled the pace of the game from the start running out to a 15-5 lead in the first four and a half minutes. The Lions would trail by two or more possessions before two McClure free throws brought the game to three points, 33-30. After that, the Sharks exploded and pushed it to 20, 50-30 before heading into the break leading 61-42.
 
The Lions would trail by 15 or more points until Yalen Reed used an and-one to cut it to 14, 72-58, and a Jared Coomer layup made it just 12 points. Nova Southeastern would surge again and extend its lead back to 20 points before the Green and Gold battled and cut the game to just nine points, but with only 26-ticks left on the clock. NSU would use two free throws to bring the game to its final, 97-84.
 
Randall concluded, "This was a high-level week of competition and unfortunately we were not up to the challenge. I am looking forward to our response on Monday in practice."
 
Up Next
Saint Leo remains on the road as the Green and Gold travel down to Tampa on Wednesday, Feb. 5 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against the Spartans.
 
 
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