Box Score

Ave Maria, Fla- The Thomas University Men's Basketball picked up their first SUN Conference win on the season Thursday night. 

 

The Night Hawks (4-2, 1-0) Senior Mohammed Abubkar continues to start Thomas off on the right track with an easy jumper. The Gyrenes of Ave Maria (3-2, 1-1) seemed to struggle a bit in the paint as the Green and Blue did not have a strong answer on offense. TU built chemistry on the court very early in the first half as a 3ptr from Senior Toriano Lewis with a dish from Mohammed helped the Night Hawks go up by seven. Lewis and Abubkar continued to play a big role in stretching the lead for the Green and White. 

 

The pace of the game stayed in the Green and White's favor on both offense and defense. AMU could not find the sweet spot of the net that they were hoping for most of the first half.

 

Eventually, the Gyrenes were able to slowly create chances for themselves in the paint as Ave Maria tried to cut the deficit but TU took advantage of their minor mistakes. AMU made it easier for TU to stretch the score by creating chances for the Night Hawks at the charity stripe to expand their lead heading into the second half. 

 

In the second half, Thomas continued to show their relentlessness as Toriano drained a 3 from downtown to keep the momentum alive. AMU's Michael Klekas showed very small surges for the Gyrenes to cut the deficit as time continued to wind down. TU found success in multiple ways to score on the court, making the Gyrenes find a different strategy to stop TU's offense. 

 

Eventually, their plan came into fruition as the Night Hawks started to show small mistakes that AMU could not pass on to cut the Green and White's lead to just ten points. Despite the late efforts from Ave Maria, TU continued to control the pace late in the game to seal the deal. 

Thomas University overall shot just 39.1% from the field as a team and 36.7% from behind the arch. The Night Hawks had no problem converting the free points after shooting 50% from the free throw line. Four Night Hawks were able to score in double digits with Toranio Lewis leading the way for the Green and White. The Richmond, Va native shot 5-8 from the 3pt line and a solid 62.5% from the field. 

 

Ave Maria struggled to find a solid and definite answer the entire game as the Gyrenes shot 36.1% from the field as a team. AMU could not find their rhythm behind the arch, only shooting 18.8% as a team from the 3pt line. 

 

WHAT'S NEXT:  TU will hit the court on Saturday at 7pm to Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla for their next SUN Conference matchup. 

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 soccer team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMBKB.