THOMASVILLE, GA- The Thomas University Men's Basketball team opened their home slate with the University of Tennessee Southern on Saturday. Despite the late comeback and surge, Thomas could not close out the contest in the final minutes of play.
The Night Hawks (1-2, 0-0) found their rhythm early in the first half as the Green and White were able to pull in a three point lead, before a shot from UTS (2-0,0-0) made it rain from downtown to tie up the game. Thomas began to get out of rhythm as a minor mistake from TU sent the FireHawks to the charity stripe to slowly pull away with a lead of their own. The Night Hawks could not find an answer on defense to stop the explosive surge that UTS built.
Senior Jordan Booker found an opportunity with a steal that turned into two free opportunities for the Powder Springs, Ga native to find a seal breaker for Thomas. Both teams continued to battle and back forth for the momentum builder heading into the half. Despite the defensive efforts, TU made nearly every free throw trip count as TU were able to shoot 42.9% from the free throw line, which gained them a small advantage heading into halftime.
Entering the second half, UTS only had a two point lead that did not last long. The Firehawks expanded their lead by nearly six points early in the second half as TU continued to battle back. Booker continued to show his relentless and selfishness with a dish to Senior Taylor Mitchell to knock down two free points. UTS lead began to shave down to just four points, before Jarvis Brown made his entrance onto the court to turn things around.
The Detroit, MI native came into the game hot and ready. Brown made an impact right away shooting 44.4% from the field and an impressive 6-6 from the charity stripe, which helped the Night Hawks see a breakaway point in the halfway point of the second half. TU did not fall back from the challenge that was being offered as a three pointer Keon Williamson saw Thomas chances of winning slim down to just five. UTS did not seem startled by the small surge that TU began to grow. The Orange and White continued to find an answer from inside the paint creating opportunities at the free throw line, which helped the FireHawks clinch the win to spoil TU's home opener.
UTS saw an advantage in nearly every statistical category as the Orange and White had two players score in double digits as the team shot 46.3% from the field overall. The FireHawks also did not shy away from contact, shooting 80% from the charity stripe. Thomas struggled from the field overall, only shooting 37.3% as a team but eventually made up for it at the free throw, shooting 78.3% as a team. Tim Williamson showed leadership in tonight's contest, leading the team in scoring, notching a season high of 18 points.
Next up, TU will close out the Classic with a contest against Texas A&M Texarkana with a tipoff time set for 2pm.
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 TU Men's Basketball by following them on Twitter at @NightHawksMBKB.
