SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo University men's basketball team had the Marion Bowman Center rocking on Wednesday evening in an 86-83 thriller. The Lions completed the season sweep of the Barry Buccaneers with the victory to improve to 9-13 overall and 4-10 in SSC play. Barry falls to 9-13 overall and 5-9 in conference play.
 
The Lions were led by Tae Wilson's 25 points, who was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Logan Ryan went five-for-eight from beyond the arc to end the night with 15 points. The freshman duo of Brady Corso (12) and Camden Cerese (11) made their presence know coming up big for the Lions down the stretch including a clutch three-point basketball by Corso to all-but seal the win for the home team.
 
Saint Leo hit 14 three-pointers in the victory, topping the previous mark of 12 in the win over Savannah State (11/8/24).
 
SAINT LEO 86, BARRY 83
 
The Lions started the game strong on both sides of the ball. Tae Wilson scored the first five points for the Lions and Jaylan McElroy stole the ball, leading to a fast-break layup by Camden Cerese. McElroy continued his strong performance with a put-back dunk that sent shock waves through the Bowman Center. The Lions' lead grew to 12 while the defense held the Buccaneers scoreless for over three minutes midway through the opening half.
 
Though trailing, the Buccaneers kept the game within reach, holding the Lions scoreless for over three minutes while going on a 6-0 run to cut the lead in half. The home team quickly answered with a 7-0 run of their own, which included back-to-back emphatic dunks by Tae Wilson to put the lead to back to double digits.
 
As the Buccaneers cut the Lions lead to six, Logan Ryan knocked down a three-pointer to send the game into the final media timeout of the first 20 minutes. The Lions finished the first half strong, thanks to three-pointers from Tae Wilson, Amar Hot, and Logan Ryan, taking an 11-point lead and the momentum into the halftime break.
 
Early threes by Brady Corso and Tae Wilson out of the intermission grew the Lions lead to 15. Corso added another three-pointer before Camden Cerese following with a three-pointer of his own to maintain the lead. Logan Ryan added back-to-back threes as the home team continued a dominant performance through the first half of the final 20 minutes.
 
The Lions' saw their largest lead of the night with a 68-48 advantage midway through the second half. The Buccaneers quietly worked their way back into the game making it a tie game with under 30 seconds in regulation. However, Brady Corso drilled a three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining for an 86-83 lead that proved to be the game-winner for the Lions.
 
UP NEXT
 
Saint Leo returns to the court on Saturday, February 8. The Lions will head to West Palm Beach to take on the Sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic in an SSC match up scheduled for 7 p.m.