MELBOURNE, Fla. - Saint Leo men's basketball opened up Sunshine State Conference play Saturday afternoon at Florida Tech, where the Lions lead slipped away and the Panthers claimed the conference opener. In the setback, Frank Webb Jr. scored his 1,000 collegiate career points after scoring 21 points Saturday. 

The Baltimore, Md. native put together another phenomenal stat-heavy night with 21 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. Webb entered the game three points shy of 1,000 career points where he achieved that on his first made bucket at the 17:17 mark, a three-pointer. Webb scored 320 points for West Virginia State before transferring to Gannon where he played three seasons and scored 524 points. After just eight games in 2020-21 he embarked on the 1,000 point plateau with 38 to go. On the season, Webb has 56 points through four games for a career total of 1,018. 

The Coomer brothers, Wade Coomer and Jared Coomer, along with Grant Disken joined Webb in double-figures in the game. Disken was second on the team in scoring going 7-of-17 from the field with 16 points while the two Coomer's tied at 12 apiece. 

The Lions (2-2) and the Panthers (2-1) played a tight first seven minutes of action before Saint Leo opened up a 10-2 run to the four minute mark for a 30-22 lead. Florida Tech used an 8-5 advantage down the stretch of the first half to cut the gap to five, 35-30, at the break. 

Saint Leo climbed out to a 14-point lead twice, 49-35 and 52-38, but saw that lead slip away in a seven-minute window where Florida Tech got the score to just a two-possession game, 66-62. Jared Coomer would put the Green and Gold back up by six at the 4:09 mark before the Panthers used a three-pointer with 1:07 on the clock to take a 73-72 lead. Down the final minute of action, missed Saint Leo shots and 10 made free throws from Florida Tech, the Lions would find themselves on the short end of the box score, 80-72.

"I do not remember ever being more disappointed with a team's late-game decision making, execution, and discipline," Head Coach Lance Randall said. "We played soft on defense to start the game but regrouped with some toughness from Valentino Hart Jr. and Wade Coomer off the bench. We could not get separation in the second half as we ignored the scouting report our assistants put together and got manhandled at the rim by Florida Tech's role players."
 
Randall added, "We have to value execution. We had an uncompetitive and soft week of practice and that translated directly into our performance at Tech today. Winning requires a full-time effort and focus."

Up Next
Saint Leo will travel to Lakeland, Fla. to participate in the Terrace Hotel Classic at Florida Southern on Nov. 26 and 27 where the Green and Gold will face St. Edward's on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Grand Valley State on Saturday at 5:30 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.