SAINT LEO, Fla. – For the second straight season, the Saint Leo University men's basketball team will compete in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Championship. 

The Green and Gold will travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. for its quarterfinal matchup as the Lions take on the third-seed Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish as the sixth-seed in the SSC Championship presented by Jimmy John's. Tip-off in Rubin Arena is slated for 7:00 p.m. as one of four quarterfinals in action Tuesday night in men's basketball.

2020 Quarterfinal Matchups
No. 1 Florida Southern (26-2, 18-2 SSC) hosts No. 8 Lynn (12-14, 8-12 SSC)
No. 2 Nova Southeastern (21-5, 15-5 SSC) hosts No. 7 Rollins (14-14, 8-12 SSC)
No. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic (20-8, 13-7 SSC) hosts No. 6 Saint Leo (16-12, 10-10 SSC)
No. 4 Barry (18-9, 12-8 SSC) hosts No. 5 Embry-Riddle (19-9, 11-9 SSC)
 
The SSC Semifinals will be held on March 5th at the highest remaining seed in the matchup. The highest remaining seed out of the winner of 1 vs 8 and 4 vs 5 will hosts the top half of the bracket semifinal while the highest remaining seed out of the 2 vs 7 and 3 vs 6 matchups will host the second semifinal. The 2020 finals will be held at the highest remaining seed on Sunday, March 8.

THE MATCHUP …
Saint Leo is eyeing a win in the 2019-2020 season against Palm Beach Atlantic as the Sailfish have so far swept the season series with an 89-76 win in Saint Leo on January 4 and most recently a 93-64 win in West Palm Beach, Fla. on February 15.
 
Between the two games, De'Ondre Jackson of the Sailfish has led all scorers with 44 total points, edging the Lions' Kyran McClure with 41 points between games. McClure's top performance this season in the two games was a 28-point effort at home while Jackson notched a 25-point performance in Rubin Arena.
 
In the past 24 matchups, the Lions hold a 16-8 record while the last 10 games have been dead even, at 5-5. PBA has won the previous two meetings, snapping a three-game win streak by the Green and Gold in years past.

This will be the first postseason meeting between the two programs. Palm Beach Atlantic is making its fourth straight appearance in as many years eligible to play in the SSC tournament while the Lions are making their second straight and eighth in the past 10 years.

LAST TIME OUT …
Saint Leo defeated Barry for the season sweep of the Bucs with an 82-72 win in Miami Shores to end the season with a 10-10 mark in the Sunshine State Conference. Kyran McClure paced the team with 27 points while Wade Coomer added a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Lions held a one-point lead at the half and hung onto end the regular season by 10 points.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY …
Saint Leo holds a 14-32 record in the SSC Tournament, with two-second place finishes. The Lions have won the regular-season title once and have been the runners-up in the tournament back in 1986 and 2013, the most recent and under current head coach Lance Randall.
 
The Lions competed as a sixth-seed last year and fell 80-78 to the third-seeded Florida Southern Moccasins at the buzzer.
 
As the fourth seed in 2016, Saint Leo took down fifth-seeded Nova Southeastern 82-73 inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
 
Saint Leo looks to be the 11^th 6-over-3 upset in the SSC tournament where Lynn was the last upset over the three seeded Rollins Tars in 2016.

BEHIND RANDALL'S GUIDANCE …
Under the direction of head coach Lance Randall, the Lions are 4-4 in the SSC postseason, where Saint Leo is making its fifth appearance in Randall's fifth year leading the Green and Gold.

In his first season at the helm, Randall led the Green and Gold to the championship game putting together a 2-1 postseason run in the SSC tournament in 2011-12 before getting knocked out in the semifinals the next two seasons, 2013-14 and 2014-15. In 2015, the Lions fell in their quarterfinal matchup as the seventh-seed. 

2012: Quarters - #3 SLU 62, #6 NSU 57; Semis - #3 SLU 73, #2 EC 67; Championship - #5 FSC 61, #3 SLU 58
2013: Quarters - #1 SLU 68, #9 UT 55; Semis - #5 RC 62, #1 SLU 53
2014: Quarters - #2 SLU 63, #9 LU 53; Semis - #3 UT 60, #2 SLU 59
2015: Quarters - #2 BU 71, #7 SLU 57
 
CAREER MILESTONES …
Two members of the 2019-2020 team have eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau this season in Kyran McClure (December 24, 2019) and Isaiah Hill (February 19, 2020), becoming two of the 25 players to have done so in the Green and Gold.
 
Both McClure and Hill used 24-point efforts to jump over 1,000 career points as McClure stands at 1,369 total career points in his four-year intercollegiate playing career (Naval Academy in 2016-17) while Hill stands at 1,296 career points in his four-year intercollegiate career (Gordon State in 2016-17).
 
Entering Tuesday's matchup, Kyran McClure has scattered his name in the record books most notably with his free throws made, standing at second all-time with 447; 56 shy of tying the school record. McClure is fifth all-time in career three-point field goals made (192), ninth all-time in assists (274), and 11^th in points (1,365).
 
Isaiah Hill is seventh all-time in steals (136) and 10^th all-time in assists (273) while Yalen Reed is ninth all-time in blocks (69).
 
UNLUCKY #13? NOT FOR MCCLURE...
Aside from leaving his name in the top-10 in career categories, Kyran McClure etched his name at the top of the list, looking to add more, in three-point field goals in a single season as well as free throws made. McClure enters Tuesday with 96 threes made, breaking the previous record of 88 set by Marcus Dewberry in 2015-16. His 203 free throws made this season shattered Tyrone Graves' 165 in 1991-92, which had been the program record for the past 28 years.
 
NATIONAL LEADER...
Kyran McClure leads all of Division II entering the week in free throws made at 203. Standing at 89.80, McClure is currently the 12^th best free-throw shooter in the country where he will chase down SSC leader and the national leader, Brandon Bornelus (Lynn – 95.60, 65-for-68) before season's end.

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.