LAKELAND, Fla. – After a tough battle between two Sun Conference rivals this evening, the Thomas University men's basketball team remains winless in TSC play, dropping their third contest in a row.  The Fire, who leads the all-time series 4-1, defeated the Night Hawks 94-69 to improve .500 in TSC play.
 
Sophomores Javoris Cooks and Tre' Ford led the Night Hawks (6-11, 0-4 TSC) in the loss, scoring 17 and 10 points, respectively.  Junior Jamison Williams stepped up big for Thomas on the glass bringing down a team high eight boards while contributing eight points.
 
In what was a unique start to the game, the Fire (13-6, 3-3 TSC) jumped out to the 1-0 lead when the Night Hawks' bench received a technical.  From there, junior guard Adonai Rogers gave Thomas its only lead of the contest, 3-1, when he swished a three from the corner.  SEU battled back surging out on a 9-0 run to take the 10-3 advantage in first two minutes of the contest.
 
While the Night Hawks pulled within two, 15-13, with 14:08 left in the opening half, Southeastern would retaliate with 9-2 scoring binge over the next five minutes to widen the gap to 24-14.
 
Heading into the intermission, Southeastern grew its lead to 46-30, outscoring Thomas 22-16.
 
The Hunter Green and White scored the opening bucket of the half on a jumper by Mike Lyons to cut the SEU lead to 46-32.  While the Night Hawks continued to battle, the shooting accuracy (46.2% from the field) by the Fire outweighed their defensive press.
 
Down the stretch, the Night Hawks struggled to connect, shooting 34.8 percent from the field in the second half, leading to a 94-69 victory in favor of Southeastern.

The Night Hawks now shift gears and focus as they return to action on Saturday, Jan. 16.  Head coach Brent Crews leads the Night Hawks into Babson Park, Fla., to face Webber International.  There, thomas looks to pick up their first TSC victory of the season and also look to snap its three game skid. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.
 
By the Numbers:
2 – Night Hawks in double figures in scoring
2 – Days until Thomas faces Webber International
8 – Game high total of rebounds by Jamison Williams
14 – Total turnovers by Night Hawks
17 – Points scored by TU's scoring leader Javoris Cooks
41 – Total rebounds by the Night Hawks
69 – Points scored by Thomas
 
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