LAKELAND, Fla. - Saint Leo men's basketball overcame an early first-half deficit to knock off St. Edward's University 77-67 at the Terrace Hotel Thanksgiving Classic inside the Streamline Sale Arena at the George W. Jenkins Field House at Florida Southern College.

"A much better defensive performance against a difficult to guard St. Edward's team," Head Coach Lance Randall commented following the neutral site win. "They put a lot of shooters out there and play with a great pace in the half-court. We got sloppy with the ball at times in the second half, but we got to the line and made our free throws and got enough stops."

The Lions (3-2, 0-1 SSC) claimed the first meeting between the two teams and overcame an early deficit to race out to a 10-point victory. Saint Leo saw Jared Coomer lead the way with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting including a 1-for-1 mark from beyond the three and a 2-for-4 night from the free-throw line. Three other players scored in double-figures led by Frank Webb Jr.'s double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Grant Disken was second on the team in scoring with 17 points while Francis Sio added 13. Luke Haasl paced the team off the glass, joining Webb in double-digits with 10 defensive boards. 

Randall continued, "Jared, Grant, and Francis got us going offensively. Very good minutes from Rob on both sides of the ball off the bench. Frank and Luke were big again on the glass."

St. Edward's (3-2) Daniel Venzant tallied a game-high 23 points, 10 of the Hilltoppers' first 18 points in the game. Logan Cook tallied a game-high 12 rebounds while Uche Dibiamaka chipped in 13 points in the loss. 

Jared Coomer drained his first look of the game to put the Green and Gold up, 3-0 in the first 30-seconds of the game. The Hilltoppers would take a 4-3 lead after a quick back-to-back layup in the paint before running out to a nine-point lead, 18-9, with 12:48 to play. Saint Leo would battle back and close the gap to one, 18-17, before taking a lead 21-20 on a Francis Sio hook shot in the paint. A back and forth battle to close out the half saw the teams draw even at 35 apiece. 

A quick 5-0 run by the Hilltoppers saw the lead go to St. Edward's 40-35 before the Lions closed the gap quickly and took a lead at 17:05 on Frank Webb Jr.'s turnaround jumper. With the pedal down, Saint Leo ran out to a quick eight-point advantage, 48-40, before allowing the Hilltoppers to climb back in, 48-47. Saint Leo would extend it 10 points with 11:36 to play, 57-47 and would remain in front by more than two possessions including its largest lead of 11 points, 70-59 and 72-61, before going to the final buzzer with a 10-point advantage, 77-67. 

Up Next
Saint Leo will wrap up play at the Terrace Hotel Thanksgiving Classic Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against no. 23 Grand Valley State University. 

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.