SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's basketball team lost 84-78 in Sunshine State Conference (SSC) action on Wednesday night against Tampa in the Marion Bowman Center.

At the half, the Spartans led by a 45-28 margin. During the second half with 11:29 remaining, Pawlikowski connected on a mid-range to cut their deficit to single digits (57-48). The Lions continued to battle as they trimmed the deficit to 66-61 at the 7:12-mark. However, in the closing seconds Tampa maintained its gap.

Pawlikowski registered a career-best 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out two assists. Senior Donovan Hill recorded a 12-point and 12-rebound double-double. Junior Luther Smith Jr. collected 10 points while senior Matt Ansah chipped in with six points and six boards.

As a team, the Lions shot 45.0 percent from the field and 85.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Saint Leo returns to action on Saturday, February 28 as it hosts Embry-Riddle in the regular season finale for Senior Day, starting at 4:30 p.m.