THOMASVILLE, Ga. - After a 16-day holiday break, Thomas resumes Sun Conference (TSC) action Thursday at No. 7 Southeastern (Fla.) in its first game of the calendar year. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET.

In addition to live stats, the contest will be televised online through Stretch Internet. 

ABOUT THOMAS

The Night Hawks are coming off a 75-58 win at NCAA Division II member Saint Leo (Fla.) on Dec. 19, 2017. 

Thomas shot a blistering 72 percent from the field, including eight made 3-pointers, in the final 20 minutes.

The Night Hawks dealt the Lions their first loss at home this season.

JaVoris Cooks paced Thomas with 17 points, including five made 3-pointers, to go along with six rebounds.

Hezekiah Goodwin scored 16 points to lead three Night Hawk reserves in double figures. Goodwin was 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep. Ivan Tomic and Jalen Bonds finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Tomic, who was 4-of-6 shooting, also hauled in seven rebounds. Bonds was a perfect 5-of-5 from inside the arc.

Jakari Bush dished out five assists in the victory. Willie Holloway had four of his team's nine steals.

Trailing 31-28 at the break, Thomas scored 47 second-half points on an 18-of-25 shooting effort, including 8-of-12 performance from downtown, in the period. 

The Night Hawks finished 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor and 48 percent (12-of-25) from 3-point land.

The Lions were limited to just 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the field and 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from deep, including 0-of-9 in the final 20 minutes.
 
Saint Leo charged out to a 29-22 lead with 3:11 to play in the first half, but the Night Hawks responded with a 6-0 spurt, including a dunk by Jerodd Blount, and trailed by only three at intermission.
 
Saint Leo pushed its lead back to 36-32 before the Night Hawks took over. A Johnnel Ginnie dunk was followed by a Cooks trey to give the visitors the upper hand for good with 16:35 to go. Already leading 55-45, the Night Hawks used a 13-0 run in a 3:37 span to push their advantage to 23 with 5:58 to play after a Goodwin layup.

ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN

The Fire are coming off a 76-65 win at home over Amherst (Mass.), which was then-No. 23 in the D3Hoops.com Top 25. on Dec. 30, 2017.

Jeremy Oppenheimer's double-double effort off the bench helped the Fire to the win. He totaled 20 points and 12 rebounds, including 10 points and 10 boards in the second half. Ryan Atkins finished with 31 points, going 11-of-18 from the field, with nine makes coming inside the arc, and 7-of-7 from the line. Grant Bryant also finished in double figures, scoring 11 points, and hauling in nine rebounds.

The Fire, who shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor in the second half, finished 15-of-20 from the charity stripe and outrebounded Amherst, 46-36.

Amherst took a four-point lead on a 3-ball with 5:47 left in the first period, but the Fire closed the half with a 14-3 run to hold a 40-33 lead at halftime.

With 15:51 left in the contest, the Fire took their largest lead when Oppenheimer, last season's Freshman of the Year in the league, drained a 3-pointer to put his team up 50-37.

The Mammoths refused to go quietly, whittling the advantage down to five with 2:43 left but was only able to manage two more points, going 1-for-6 from the field with a turnover. 

Atkins, the reigning TSC Player of the Week who has won the award three times this season, has scored 30 or more points in three-straight games and leads the conference in scoring (23.6 ppg) and is second in steals (2.1 spg).

Southeastern ranks 15th in NAIA Division II in offensive rebounds per game (13.0), steals per game (9.1) and scoring margin (13.5).

Atkins is eighth in NAIA Division II in points per game (23.6), 21st in free throw percentage (0.862) and 23rd in steals per game (2.1). Issac Barsh is 11th in offensive rebounds per game (3.5).

The Fire are 7-1 at home this season.

Southeastern added guard Savonte Frazier, a transfer from Saint Leo and former ESPN two-star player out of Lake Wales (Fla.) High School, at the beginning of the month.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE FIRE

Thomas lost at Southeastern, 77-53, on Feb. 2, 2017.

Cooks had 13 points, while Bonds added 10. Holloway had six rebounds.

Traevon Gresham converted an and-one to tie the game at 13 for the Night Hawks, who went on a 6-0 run and took a 23-18 lead with five and a half minutes left in the first half, their largest of the game.

Tre Ford knocked down a jumper and tied the game at 25, but the Fire led 37-30 at halftime.

Thomas opened the second half on a 6-0 run and cut the deficit to one, but Southeastern responded with a 10-0 run and pulled away.

The Fire shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field, including 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from deep.
 

TIP-INS