SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's basketball team fell 83-61 to Sunshine State Conference (SSC) foe #12 Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday evening at the Marion Bowman Center.

The Lions battled early and stayed within striking distance through much of the first half before the Sailfish used a 12-4 run to take a 40-28 advantage into halftime.
The Lions worked to cut into the deficit early in the second half, trimming the margin to 11 on a junior Jayden Johnson layup with 16:29 remaining, however, the Sailfish responded to extend their lead to 20 points midway through the second half.

Johnson led the Lions with a career-best 17 points, knocking down four three-pointers, while junior Jordan Ruggirello added 16 points off the bench, connecting on three shots from beyond the arc. Senior Donovan Hill chipped in 10 points, six assists, and nine rebounds, while sophomore Dominic Commisso and junior Elijah Harris each finished with seven points.

Palm Beach Atlantic outrebounded Saint Leo 54-26. The Sailfish also outscored the Lions 36-16 in bench points and 40-22 in points in the paint.
Saint Leo finished the contest shooting 34.9 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from three-point range.

The Lions return to action on Wednesday, February 14 as they travel to Barry for a conference bout, starting at 4 p.m.