LAKELAND, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's basketball team fell just short on the road against Florida Southern in Sunshine State Conference (SSC) play on Wednesday night with a 95-85 loss. The game featured several career highs for the Lions.

The Green and Gold gained the early momentum by grasping a 17-6 lead less than seven minutes into the game that featured a bevy of three-pointers by Saint Leo. The Lions continued to limit on the Mocs on the defensive side of the court and while imposing their will on offensive side as the Lions built a 33-18 advantage following a dunk by sophomore Dominic Commisso. However, Florida Southern trimmed its deficit to four points with 5:48 remaining in the first half. In the closing minute of the opening frame, the Mocs connected on a three-pointer and a free throw attempt to tie the game 42-42 at the break.

The second half featured seven lead changes and 10 ties for a back-and-forth battle. Following a good free throw attempt by Commisso at the 7:54-mark, the scored was deadlocked at 73 until the Mocs laced a three with seven minutes left in the game. Florida Southern maintained its lead for the rest of the game as it eventually constructed a 10-point.

As a team, the Lions shot an impressive 50.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc. In addition to recording 13 second chance points, 14 bench points, and 15 points off turnovers, the Lions notched nine offensive rebounds, four blocks, and nine steals.

Leading the offensive charge for the Lions was junior Luther Smith Jr., who tied a career- and season-high 26 points to go along with five rebounds, one block, and three steals. Commisso tallied a career-best 22 points while grabbing seven boards and blocking three shots. Junior Jayden Johnson recorded 13 points with five rebounds and one a steal. Junior Jordan Ruggirello not only tallied a career-high 14 points, but also scored his first collegiate points in the process of going 4-for-6 from the deep and 5-for-9 from the field with two rebounds and two steals. Freshman Aeris Lawson chipped in with seven points and three rebounds.

The Lions return to action on Saturday, January 31 as they host Florida Tech in a conference bout, starting at 4:30 p.m.