THOMASVILLE, Ga. - Thomas continues Sun Conference (TSC) play Saturday against No. 22 Saint Thomas (Fla.), the second of three-straight league games inside TU Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. ET.
In addition to live stats, the match will be televised online through Night Hawks Television. Updates will also be available on Thomas' official men's basketball Twitter account (@NightHawksMBKB).
Saturday's game is sponsored by Marketing Communications, Inc., a promotional product distributor and member of the Advertising Specialty Institute. Since 1992, the mission at Marketing Communications has been to enhance the growth of businesses by providing quality promotional products, innovative ideas and exceptional services.Â
Game 10/#22 Saint Thomas (5-2, 2-0 TSC) at Thomas (4-5, 1-2 TSC)
Saturday, Dec. 2 • 4 p.m. ET
Thomasville, Ga. • TU Gymnasium
TV:Â Night Hawks Television
Live Stats:Â TUNightHawks.com
Twitter Updates:Â @NightHawksMBKB
Series History:Â Thomas trails 4-6 (Thomas won last game)
Record at Thomas:Â 1-3
Record at Saint Thomas:Â 3-3
Record at Neutral Site:Â 0-0
Coach Brent Crews vs. Saint Thomas: 3-2
ABOUT THOMAS
The Night Hawks are coming off a 60-58 win over Florida Memorial on Thursday in TU Gymnasium in league play.
Thomas' Keion Peoples poured in 17 points off the bench for a second-consecutive game.
The Night Hawks used an 11-0 run to take a 16-4 lead midway through the first half following aÂ
D.J. Roulhac layup. A Eugene Harvey jumper at the 6:54 mark brought the Lions within a basket at 19-17. Thomas stretched its advantage back to nine with 2:56 left before halftime, but a Davon Williams trey trimmed the Night Hawks' edge at the break to 31-30.
TwoÂ
Willie Holloway two-handed, alley-oop dunks in the first 3:30 of the second half helped maintain Thomas' edge until the Lions used a 6-0 spurt in less than three minutes to grab a 41-36 lead with 13:50 to play.Â
With his team trailing by six at the 11:37 mark, Peoples scored four of the Night Hawks next six points to knot the contest at 45. Following two ties,Â
JaVoris Cooks canned a 3 from the corner to put the Green and White ahead 52-49 with 5:02 to go. A Williams layup two minutes later put his team back in front, 55-54, but five-straight points by Peoples, starting with two made free throws at the 1:40 mark, helped seal the Night Hawks' third-straight win at home.
Peoples finished 5-of-10 shooting and 7-of-9 from the line.
Holloway andÂ
Johnnel Ginnie each added eight points. Cooks andÂ
Jalen Bonds each tallied seven points.
Ginnie pulled down eight boards, while Holloway had seven. Peoples, Johnson andÂ
Jakari Bush each dished out three assists.
Thomas shot 42 percent (21-of-50) from the floor and converted more free throws (15) than Florida Memorial attempted (12). The Night Hawks outscored the visitors in the paint, 34-22.
Each team had 39 rebounds.Â
ABOUT SAINT THOMAS
The Bobcats are coming off an 87-82 win at Coastal Georgia on Thursday in league play.
Raheem Bowman recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Tim Sada scored 15 points, while Khalil Williams (14), Philip Saunders (11) andÂ
Fotios Malelis (11) also scored in double figures for the Bobcats.Â
Saint Thomas hit 10 3-pointers in the win and shot 50 percent from the field. Sada, Saunders and Antoine Joe each hit three 3-pointers.
The Bobcats led by as many as 13 points in the first half. Coastal Georgia battled back to tie the game at several points in the second half before a 3-point barrage by Sada, Saunders and Brown down the stretch.
Saint Thomas ranks 25th in NAIA Division II in steals per game (8.7), 26th in blocks per game (3.6) and 32nd in 3-pointers made per game (9.6),
Sada ranks 12th nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.4) and 27th in 3-point field goal percentage (0.511). Malelis is 37th in blocks per game (1.3).
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE BOBCATS
No. 6-seed Thomas won at No. 3-seed Saint Thomas, 75-68, on Feb. 23, 2017, in the quarterfinals of The Sun Conference Championship, sponsored by Commerce Bank.
Thomas shot a season high 75.9 percent (22-of-29) from the free throw line in the game.
Cooks produced his second double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Katrell Myers provided 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists off the bench. Ivan Tomic registered a career-high 12 points, while Bonds added 10, both coming in reserve roles.
Thomas opened the game up 6-0, including the first four points from Bonds. The Night Hawks then went on a 7-1 run and took a 15-6 lead. Kristers Zeidaks slimmed the Thomas lead to 18-17 on a made layup. The Bobcats closed the half on an 11-2 run and held a 30-24 lead at the break.
The Night Hawks opened the second half on a 7-1 run and pulled within one point at 38-37. Holloway converted an and-one and kept Thomas within a point at 43-42 and later connected on a jumper and tied the game at 48. In the next six minutes, the game was tied six times with four lead changes.
Tomic sank two free throws at the 4:51 mark and gave the Night Hawks the upper hand for good. The Night Hawks went on a 9-2 run and extended the lead to 70-61 before ending the game with five free throws.
TIP-INS
- Cooks averaged 14.0 points in three games against the Bobcats last season.
- The Night Hawks have won six of their last seven home games and ended a five-game losing streak overall on Thursday.
- Thomas ranks 41st in NAIA Division II in scoring defense per game (73.7) and 43rd in offensive rebounds per game (11.7).
- Cooks ranks seventh in the country in 3-point field goals made per game (3.6).
- Thomas is 3-0 this season when scoring 83 points or more.
- The Night Hawks are 3-1 when Ginnie scores 17 or more points.
- In the Oct. 27 season-opener at Point (Ga.), Cooks moved past former teammate Adanoi Rogers at the 16:47 mark of the first half on a trey to become the school's all-time leading scorer.
- Also on Oct. 27, Cooks became the program's first member of the 1,000-point club following two made free throws with 1:13 left in the second half. He now has 1,101Â career points.
- Cooks' 15 3-point attempts on Nov. 11 against Talladega (Ala.) are the most by any TSC player in a game this season.
- Thomas faces three ranked opponents - No. 11 Southeastern (Fla.), No. 22 Saint Thomas and No. 24 Warner (Fla.) - and one that is receiving votes - Keiser (Fla.) - in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25. The Night Hawks lost at Keiser on Nov. 16.
- Thomas' Demetrius Rivers is redshirting this season and will have four seasons of eligibility remaining.
