Saint Leo boxscore in PDF
Guard Forrester Sims poured in a career-high 31 points and Maryville shot 60.7 percent from the field to down Saint Leo 104-87 Saturday at the Maryville Classic. The point total was the highest in the coach Kevin Carroll era for the Saints and the most since scoring 107 at UMSL Jan 2, 2010. The win is the third straight for the Saints.
 
The Lions roared out of the game and scored the first eight points of the game before the Saints cut the gap to just one at 11-10. Sims started the rally with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Damyan Stoyanov's bucket drew the Saints to just one. Saint Leo kept the lead and were still up 39-35 with four minutes left in the first half before the Saints closed with a 15-4 burst to surge ahead. Jeff Leeson scored a bucket and drilled a 3-pointer to give the Saints their first lead of the day at 40-39. Maryville still led 42-41 but Karson King drained a triple and a layup. Saint Leo scored to cut the lead to 47-43 but King splashed in a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer for a 50-43 lead.
 
Sims sank a 3-pointer to open the second half as Maryville built a double-digit lead. The Lions chipped away at the margin and closed to 55-49 three minutes after intermission. Sims sank a 3-pointer, and after a Saint Leo bucket, he added a layup. Leeson scored five straight points as Maryville went up 65-51. The Saints advantage stood at 75-61 before scoring seven consecutive points. Leeson made a corner 3-pointer, Sims hit two free throws, and Stoyanov's baseline layup was good for an 82-61 lead. The Saints pushed the advantage to as much as 95-73 and cruised to the win.
 
Sims hit all 10 free throws, five 3-pointers en route to the best scoring output since Trae Pemberton scored 31 against Missouri S&T Jan. 24, 2015. Marvin Grant-Clark scored 18 points, while Leeson tallied a career-best 17 points off the bench. King finished with a season-high 14 points to go along with a team-leading seven rebounds. The Saints shot 60.7 percent from the field, their highest field goal percentage since a 60.9 performance versus William Woods Dec. 1, 2014. Carter Belling led Saint Leo (7-5) with 17 points.
 
The Saints take on Trevecca Nazarene Sunday, in a 3 p.m. contest to close out the Maryville Classic.