STUNNED! Lions Struggle in Road Contest

No shooting. No rhythm. No answers for Eckerd’s pressure man to man. Saint Leo missed these important components the entire first half and most of the second half, as they fell to the Tritons 80-68 Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, dropping the Lions to 0-1 in conference play and 2-1 overall. Despite a late valiant surge within the last five minutes of the game, the conference season opener overall was a disappointing loss for the turnover-prone Lions, as they failed to convert on opportunities given by Eckerd. The Tritons tallied up six blocks and six steals on the night, leading to approximately 20 of their points scored. With the exception of Trail Pierce, all of the Lions’ shooters’ field goal percentage were below 60%, as freshmen Lawrence Watt went 5-for-9 (55.6%) and Carter Belling 3-for-6 (50.0%).

For Lions fans, this draws confusion on the season. How does a team that comes off of two consecutive 90+ point games, including an upset over #12 Alabama-Huntsville, fail to score even 70 tonight? Granted, it is early in the season, but this is an early reality check that Saint Leo still has a long way to go in order to return to the NCAA Tournament from two seasons earlier. This was a game the Lions needed to win, as their next four conference opponents feature the top four teams in the Sunshine State Conference, including dates with Florida Southern and #24 Barry. Saint Leo will look to get back on track and build from the comeback, no quit effort down the stretch.  On Saturday afternoon at 4pm, Saint Leo hosts Nova Southeastern at the Bowman center for the  first home conference match-up.  Rocket Sports & Entertainment Network’s Rick Sassone will call the play by play action on the Saint Leo University Lions Network.