Saint Leo University Athletics recently issued the following announcement.
The Saint Leo men's basketball team saw its lead slip away late in the second half before the visiting Eagles of No. 18/8 Embry-Riddle pulled away in overtime to steal a 92-87 victory inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center. Saint Leo had four score in double-figures led by sophomore Jared Coomer who poured in a team-high 19 points. The Glasgow, Ky. native also led the team with five assists.
The Lions held a 41-37 lead at the halftime break after shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range while the Eagles struggled from distance in the opening period hitting just three of their 17 attempts (17.6 percent). Junior Francis Sio led the way with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes but was held to just three points the rest of the game.
The Eagles opened the second half with a quick 5-0 run and eventually extended their lead to five points at the 13:58 mark with a field goal from Nikola Jerotic. Saint Leo responded with a 16-2 run of its own including nine points from J. Coomer and four from freshman Grant Disken. The three other points on the run came from senior Wade Coomer who hit a 3-pointer to spark the comeback. The lead would eventually balloon to 10 at 69-59 as W. Coomer sank a 3-pointer with 6:45 left in the second half.
In a half of runs, the Eagles answered the W. Coomer three with one of their own which began a 9-0 run by the visitors which cut the Lions' lead to just two with 5:07 left. The Lions continued to hold the Eagles off including W. Coomer hitting another three with just under two minutes to play to push the lead to four at 74-70. Both teams went scoreless for over a minute until a Rob Fry free throw pushed the advantage to five at 75-70 with just 37 ticks left.
The Lions stopped the Eagles on the next possession but a miss on the front end of a one-and-one gave the Eagles the ball back with 16 seconds left and an untimely foul sent ERAU to the free throw line where Romeo Crouch sunk a pair to cut the lead to just three. Senior Frank Webb Jr. hit a pair of free throws to push the advantage back to five with 14 second left. A 3-pointer by Crouch on ERAU's next possession cut the lead down to two with just seven seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Crouch was able to steal the inbounds pass and was fouled in the process which sent him to the free throw line with five seconds left with a chance to tie the game. He proceeded to sink the two free throws and a coast-to-coast effort from Webb Jr. came up just short as the game headed to overtime, 77-77.
The two teams went back-and-forth early in the overtime period but an 8-2 run by the Eagles over a three-minute stretch put the game out of reach as Embry-Riddle moved to 9-1 on the season including 2-0 in Sunshine State Conference play with a 92-87 victory. The Lions fell to 4-4 overall including 1-2 in league action.
Webb Jr. and Sio tied for second on the Lions in scoring with 15 points each. Webb Jr. came up just short of a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds. Sio was 4-of-6 from 3-point range which were all the shots he took from the field on the night. Fry added 13 points and a team-best two steals to round out the double-digit scorers for the Lions.
Crouch led the Eagles with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds while Jerotic chipped in 20 points and eight boards. Jon Alessandro nearly hit the 20-point mark as he finished with 19 points and a team0high five assists.
The Lions finished the night hitting 43.8 percent (28-64) of their shots including 40.0 percent (8-20) from three. Saint Leo hit just 71.9 percent (23-32) of its free throw attempts despite making over double the trips to the charity stripe as compared to the Eagles. The nationally-ranked Eagles also hit 43.8 percent (35-80) of their shots from the field while struggling from downtown at 26.3 percent (10-38). ERAU took advantage of its 15 trips to the charity stripe, knocking down 12.
The Green and Gold will return to action this Thursday, Dec. 9 as they return to non-conference play as the University of Fort Lauderdale visit the Marion Bowman Activities Center for a 7 p.m. contest. The Lions will be hosting a canned food drive where spectators can gain free admission by bringing a minimum of four canned items.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's basketball team be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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