THOMASVILLE, Ga. – Less than 48 hours after a stinging defeat to St. Thomas, the Thomas University Men's basketball team experienced Deja vu, falling once again on a last-second, buzzer-beating basket that gave Florida Memorial a 71-70 win Saturday evening at TU Gymnasium.
TU (10-13, 4-9 SUN) matched its third-highest field percentage of the season (.481), also shooting 30.8% from beyond the perimeter. The free-throw performance was perhaps the biggest Achilles' Heel for the Green & White, hitting 10-for-20 (50%) at the charity stripe. Florida Memorial (13-7, 9-4 SUN) finished the day with 10 more shot attempts from the field than Thomas (64-54).
Senior Guard
Tim Williamson led all Night Hawks' in scoring (19 points), shooting an impressive 9-for-12 (75%) from the floor while going 1-for-2 from long-range. Williamson was one board shy of posting a double-double. Senior Guard
Toriano Lewis once again had a proficient performance from outside the arch, hitting 4-for-9 (.444) on the day.
The first half was mostly balanced before Thomas began to inch out to a single-digit lead as large as eight. The Lions would make sure the Night Hawks did not pull away with an insurmountable lead, keeping the scoring difference to six at the half-way point (36-30).
Coming out of the locker room, Florida Memorial took 2:03 to pull the game to within two (38-36) before TU put together a 14-3 scoring run over the next six and a half minutes of play to build its largest lead of the contest (52-39) with 11:14 remaining.
Just as Thomas appeared to be in position to pull away for good, the Lions spent the next 6:05 on a blazing 21-4 run that saw FMU shoot 90% from the field, led by Corey Benton's 10 points, that gave FMU the lead again with just over five minutes left. In that same span, the Night Hawks shot 2-for-7.
Down by five (67-62) at the 2:32 mark, Lewis cashed in on a crucial trey to cut the difference to one score. A minute and a half later, the Richmond, Va. native would hit a 3-Ptr. that retook the lead (70-67) for Thomas.
With a slim lead in the final minute, Thomas attempted to run out as muck clock as they could but nearly gave a costly turnover when Williamson lost possession of the ball before the Lions' Anfernee King was charged with a fifth, personal foul that ended his day. Williamson had a chance to potentially extend its lead to three points, but a missed free-throw by Williamson on the 1-and-1 gave FMU new life with 11.1 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Benton was fouled by Sophomore Guard
Deonta Jones, also setting up a 1-and-1 situation that had go-ahead potential. The SUN Conference's second-best free-throw shooter missed the first shot however, rebounded by the Lions. FMU's Cheikh Kebe jumper was blocked down by Williamson, but the Augusta, Ga.'s block trajectory gave Brent Holcombe one final shot for Florida Memorial, banking the shot off the glass as time expired to give the Lions the 71-70 win.
TU by the Numbers
4: Players in double figures
8: 3-ptrs. made
13: Largest lead of the game
17: Turnovers forced
28: Team rebounds
46: Rebounds allowed
70: Points scored
The Night Hawks are back at home Thursday, as the team prepares for its rematch against the Warner Royals. Tipoff time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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