LAKELAND, Fla. – The Thomas University men's basketball team's season came to an end tonight on the road in the quarterfinals of the Sun Conference Tournament.  The sixth-seeded Night Hawks were defeated by the third-seeded Fire of Southeastern University 86-64.
 
Southeastern opened the game with 5-0 run to take the early lead before the Night Hawks could respond with their first basket of the evening.  The Fire would pull ahead to 9-2 before Thomas went on a 7-0 run to draw things back even.
 
That moment (9-9) was the last time the Night Hawks had a touch of a potential lead for the rest of the game.  The Fire charged forward on a 9-0 run to take the 18-9 lead.  Junior Ty Bull would halt the engulfment by making a free throw before SEU once again powered ahead to take a 15 point, 28-13, lead at its height over the Night Hawks with 8:01 remaining until the break.
 
Down but not out, the Night Hawks would surge back to pull within nine to head into the half behind 44-35.
 
After the break, Thomas would score the first basket of the second half to cut SEU's lead to seven, 44-37.  This would be the lowest lead that the Fire held the rest of the contest.  Down the stretch, Southeastern would use two major scoring runs to pull away for a game height of 26, 82-56, with just over two minutes remaining in the game.  Two minutes later, the horn would sound with the agony of defeat for the Night Hawks.  Southeastern would pick up the 86-64 victory to move on to the Sun Conference semifinals.
 
The Night Hawks had three players in double figures in the contest.  Senior Alan Love led the way for Thomas coming up just two rebounds shy of a double-double.  His 20 point, eight rebound performance kept the Night Hawks close in the first half.  Sophomore Adonai Rogers scored 12 points while bringing down three boards and picking up one steal.  Marcus Humose rounded out the trio netting 11 points and delivering an assist in his 27 minutes of play.
 
Head coach Stephen Cox reflected on the loss, "This was certainly not the result we were looking for today. I thought we played hard. We had a hard time making shots. I give Southeastern credit; they played well. I'm happy for the seniors and what they accomplished this season. We had a Top 15 national ranking; stayed in the Top 25 or received votes (RV) for eight total weeks; and we had a nine game winning streak.  Our guys beat six Top 25 or RV teams and were the only team in the nation to defeat No. 2 Embry-Riddle. The team had the most wins (18) in our tenure so far since the revitalization of the program. What I'm most proud of is that we have four college graduates this spring out of this senior class. They set the bar pretty high, and there is much to build off of. Congratulations, KD, Max, RJ, A Lo, and Rock, and thank you!"
 
The Night Hawks finish the 2014-2015 season with an 18-11, 9-9 TSC, record.  Their 18 wins surpasses last year's win total (17) and establishes a new benchmark for achievement moving into next season.
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU women's basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMBKB.