WEST PLAM BEACH, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's basketball team capped off the Palm Beach Atlantic Christmas Tournament with an 85-66 victory over American International on Friday evening in non-conference play. This marks the first time in three seasons that the basketball program will be entering the Christmas break with a winning record. Additionally, senior forward Donovan Hill recorded his first career triple-double and only the second triple-double in Saint Leo men's basketball program history (Marcus Dewberry, Feb.20, 2016 vs. Florida Tech).

Head coach Spencer Henke stated, "It feels really good to go into Christmas break with back-to-back wins and above .500 for the first time in the last three years. I thought our guys embraced really difficult circumstances today to pick up a very important win."

The Green & Gold opened the game up with a 10-5 advantage following a mid-range jumper from senior Owen Pawlikowski, however, the Yellow Jackets executed a 13-5 run to take an 18-13 edge with 11:15 remaining in the opening half. The Lions answered as they held American International scoreless for the next five minutes to regain the lead by a 28-18 margin. Before halftime, the Yellow Jackets trimmed its deficit to 41-40 with a layup with two seconds left in the first frame.

Henke continued, "Luther and Owen made big time offensive plays all game long, especially in the second half to help us extend our lead. Lenz also had some extremely important buckets and gave us great offensive production. Donovan put together another great competitive 40 minutes tonight and impacted every area as his triple-double entails. Dom, Jayden, and Eli were LIONS for 40 minutes as well and I couldn't be prouder of those three as they continue to develop."

Saint Leo exploded out of the gates in the second half as it mounted a 16-point lead (60-44) after another mid-range jumper from Pawlikowski. As a team, the Lions pressured American International on both ends as they shot 57.14 percent from deep and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe in the second half. The Lions' defense remained stout to hold the Yellow Jackets at bay and secure the neutral site victory.

Junior Luther Smith Jr. finished with 26 points, four boards, one assist, and one steal while Pawlikowski tallied his first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Hill notched 13 points, 11 boards, 10 assists, and three steals. Senior Lenz Dupont posted 13 points, one steal, and one assist while sophomore Dominic Commisso recorded nine points and six boards.

Saint Leo returns to action on Wednesday December, 31 as it travels to face Rollins in a Sunshine State Conference (SSC) showdown starting at 4 p.m.