Box Score Saint Leo's Dominick Robinson sank a long three-pointer just before the final buzzer to give the Lions a 60-57 Sunshine State Conference win over the Moccasins Wednesday night at Saint Leo.
After Robinson's basket, the officials determined there was six-tenths of a second left, giving the Moccasins one final shot, but Kevin Capers' attempt from well in the back court was just off target.
On the strength of three three-pointers from Trent Thomas, Saint Leo had rallied from a nine-point deficit, 48-39, with 8:43 to play to take a 51-50 lead with 4:18 left. After another basket by Robinson put the Lions up by five, 57-52, with 3:06 left, Seth Evans sank a three-pointer with 2:53 left to make it 57-55, then Dominic Lane tied the game with a pair of free throws at the 1:03 mark.
Saint Leo missed its next shot, Capers grabbed the rebound and the Moccasins called a timeout. With 22 seconds left, however, the Mocs turned the ball over, giving the Lions their final scoring chance.
Brett Bailey led FSC (8-5, 2-3 SSC) with 17 points. Capers had 12 and Lane added 10. Garrett Putman had a season-high 12 rebounds. The Lions' held the Moccasins' leading scorer, Evans, to just three points.
Robinson, who did not start the game, finished with a team-high 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench for the Lions (8-6, 2-2 SSC). That led a combined 29-point effort by the Lions' bench. Thomas, the Lion's leading scorer for the season, added 12.
A pair of unusual injuries left the Moccasins short-handed for most of the game. Andre Hawkins suffered a sprained ankle during pre-game warmups and was unable to play. Jon Gardner had to leave after playing just three minutes when he hit the floor hard in a fall and experienced concussion-like symptoms.
Neither team had a good shooting night. The Moccasins shot 37.1 percent from the field, made just three of 16 from three-point range and only eight of 18 free throws. Saint Leo shot 35.6 percent from the field, made five of 14 three-pointers and was 13 of 19 at the free throw line.
The Moccasins play Barry Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Jenkins Field House.
