LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College men's basketball used a strong second half to narrow the deficit but came up just short to the visiting Saint Leo University Lions, 71-64, at Streamline Sale Court inside the George W. Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins saw freshman
Alex Steen register his first career double-double with a career-high 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the Sunshine State Conference matchup.
"Great game from our freshman
Alex Steen," Head Coach
Mike Donnelly stated. "I knew it was just a matter of time before Alex had a breakout game. He works as hard as anyone in our program, and he has a real competitive edge that I love about him."
Donnelly added, "Losing is unacceptable, but he was certainly the one bright spot for us tonight. Now, all of our focus is on Rollins. The biggest game of the year is on Saturday."
The Mocs fall to 10-5 and .500 in conference play, 4-4.
Alex Steen, a freshman from Panama City, Fla., led all scorers for Florida Southern with 18 points in 34 minutes on the court. Redshirt sophomore
Dominick Denny came off the bench and provided 12 points, ahead of junior
Connor Raines with 11.
Redshirt senior
E.J. Dambreville was on pace to register a double-double but finished with 11 boards and eight points. Redshirt sophomore
Tray Alexander played 33 minutes and had nine points while redshirt sophomore
Luke Anderson rounded out the scoring with six points.
Saint Leo moves to 13-5 overall and 5-3 in league play after being led by Marty Jackson's double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Francis Sio added 15 points off the bench in 18 minutes of action.
Both teams started the contest slow, where it was just the Lions leading 6-2 at the first media break. Over the next 10 minutes, Saint Leo pushed out to a double-digit lead, 20-9, before heading into the break leading by 14, 35-21.
Florida Southern used a strong start over the course of the first seven minutes in the second half to whittle the deficit away to just a two-possession game, 42-36, on an old-fashioned three-point play by
Alex Steen. The Lions used a quick burst of energy to pull away and lead by 12, 53-41, before the Mocs used four consecutive successful trips down the court, with defensive stops on the other end, to cut the score to just three points thanks to
Dominick Denny's and-one driving layup at the 5:51 mark.
Saint Leo would inch away as Florida Southern would attempt to stay within striking distance, just a three-possession game, all the way to the game's conclusion.
Up Next
Florida Southern turns its attention to Rollins on Saturday, Jan. 14 with a 4 p.m. tip scheduled inside the Harold & Ted Alfond Sports Center in Winter Park, Fla.
