LAKELAND, Fla. – After a tough contest the day before, the Saint Leo University Men's basketball team came out firing Saturday evening, dominating Anderson (S.C.) 92-62 at the George W. Jenkins Fieldhouse.
 
The Lions (3-3, 0-1 SSC) shot over 57% from the floor and shot perfect from the free-throw line (10-for-10) for the second time this season.  Defensively, the Green & Gold kept the 3-pt. shooting Trojans (2-5) to under 31% from beyond the perimeter and 41% overall from the floor.  Saint Leo forced 16 turnovers off Anderson and scored 31 of its points off Trojan turnovers.
 
Two Lions posted 20+ point performances, as Redshirt Senior Guard Kanon Koster reeled off his third-highest career total in scoring with 29 points, shooting 52% from the floor.  Fifth-Year Forward Marty Jackson scored 22 points, shooting 11-for-17 from the field and grabbing nine boards with three assists, two steals, and one block.
 
In the first seven minutes, Saint Leo took advantage of the Trojans' field defense, pushing out to a 13-point lead (19-6) thanks to baskets inside the arch.  AU would not go away quietly, using its sniping abilities to work its way back to cut the deficit to five (36-31) at the 1:10 mark before the Lions finished the half with a Jackson dunk to take a 38-31 lead into the locker room.
 
With 12:17 remaining in the game, a steal from Freshman Trey Lane led to a made 3-ptr. from Junior Forward Jared Coomer, igniting an offensive rout for the rest of the contest that saw the Lions win by 30.
 
"Really good effort on both sides of the ball" said Head Coach Lance Randall.  "Decision-making was excellent on offense; execution was so much better than yesterday.  Trey and Grant did a nice job getting us into things.  Kanon and Marty were monsters on both ends of the court."
 
"I thought Cantia Rahming had a terrific weekend and it was good to see Jared relaxed and flowing in the second half today; he is such an important part of what we do."
 
"We got some good things out of our bench overall; the biggest difference outside of execution from yesterday was the fact that we locked in defensively without putting them on the line.  With a young group and so many new guys, you are really looking for improvement not just week-to-week but day-to-day and I am pleased we got that.  They are a great group to coach; we need to keep taking steps forward."
 
The Lions resume Sunshine State Conference play Wednesday as the team travels to Daytona Beach, Fla. to face nationally-ranked and unbeaten Embry-Riddle (Fla.).  Tipoff at the ICI Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on Saint Leo Men's Basketball, 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.