BY JACOB STOUT
Lions’ Pride Sports Writer

Courtesy of Mike Carlson

SLU Basketball Player

The Saint Leo men’s basketball team was handed a loss at the hands of the University of Florida Gators on Monday, November 2 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville. In spite of the Lions’ strong efforts on the court, the Gators ended up on top in the exhibition game.

In the first half of the game, Florida gained control from the opening tip, but a steal by junior Daniel Oliver gave Saint Leo possession and a chance to take the first points of the game. An offensive rebound by Oliver off a missed jump shot by senior Josue Vazquez gave the Lions another opportunity when freshman Dominick Robinson took a jumper shot. Florida rebounded and showed their speed right away with a fast break ending in a layup by Kenny Boynton.

Courtesy of Mike Carlson

Saint Leo Starting Five Against Florida Gators

Florida pressed the Lions bringing the ball up the court, but the Gators stifling defense did not allow Saint Leo to get into a flow. A three-pointer by Boynton and Florida took a 5-0 lead. The Lions got on board when senior Eric Sharper was fouled while driving to the hoop. Sharper made one of the two free-throws to make the score 5-1.

Saint Leo coach Mike Madagan called for a timeout after Erving Walker and Vernon Macklin scored for the Gators to make it 9-1. After the timeout, Lions’ senior Jordan Prais put back an offensive rebound for his first points of the game. Florida answered with an 11-0 run to make it 20-3 and Saint Leo tried to contain the Gators. With ten minutes left in the first half, Prais scored again but Florida held onto their lead at 30-9.

Florida continued to increase their lead to 41-12. A small 4-0 run by Saint Leo caused Florida coach Billy Donovan to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, a missed three-pointer by Florida’s Dan Werner was rebounded by Vaszquez who then assisted on a three-pointer by junior Jamal Thompson to cap a 7-0 run and cut the Gators lead to 41-19. Florida came back with a 7-0 run of their own to extend the lead back to 29 points.

Two free-throws by Vazquez and a layup by junior Walter Perkins cut the lead to 25, but three fouls by the Lions gave the Gators six free-throws, which they made, and at halftime Florida led by a score of 54-23.

The Lions came out from halftime and quickly scored on two free-throws by Oliver. A minute later, Vazquez made a layup and quickly stole the inbounds pass from Dan Werner but could not convert the short jumper. The teams exchanged field goals until the Gators got some momentum and went on an 8-0 run to make the score 71-33.

The Saint Leo defense improved in the second half, but the Lions could not find their shooting stroke as they shot a 23 percent from the field. The remainder of the game saw the two teams swap baskets with Florida making a few small runs. The score ended up for Florida on top 95-46.

Prais and Thompson led the way for the Lions with 11 points each, while the Gators had four players scoring in double figures, with Boyton being the high scorer with 22. The Lions improved on the number of fouls committed in the second half, allowing the Gators to attempt only six free-throws.
Saint Leo has now played Florida in exhibition basketball three times; the first two times they faced each other in 1983 and 1984, and the most recent, on November 2.