MONTGOMERY, AL |  The Night Hawks Men's Basketball (12-18, 9-11 SSAC) season has come to an end, at the hand of the The Tennessee Southern Firehawks (25-4, 18-2 SSAC) by a score of 77-64 at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex.

The Night Hawks never lead in the contest.  The Firehawks scored the first seven points of the ballgame before Jarvis Brown knocked down a 3-pointer, to get Thomas on the scoreboard.  With Thomas down 22-13, a Keon Williams 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Deonta Jones, would see Thomas cut the deficit to 22-18, with 5:50 remaining in the 1st half.  Unfortunately, UT Southern would then go on a 14-4 run, to expand the Thomas deficit to 14 points.  Thomas. would enter halftime trailing 39-26.

Jailin Lee would lead Thomas with 11 first half points, along with four rebounds.  Jarvis Brown and Devin Baney would add five points, each, at intermission.  Deonta Jones would have four rebounds and the Night Hawks only steal of the half.

Despite multiple efforts to cut into the UT Southern lead, Thomas would trail by double digits for the entire 2nd half.  The Firehawks lead would grow to as large as 20 points, with10:26 remaining in the ball game.  Jarvis Brown would then go on a personal 6-0 run, knocking down 3/4 free throws, and sinking a 3-pointer to cut the UT Southern lead to 14.  

Jailin Lee, Keon Williams, Devin Baney, Noah Lattin, and Andre Lightbourne would mix in field goals, in the midst of UT Southern scoring, to cut the Thomas deficit to 10 points.  But with less than one-minute remaining in the ball game, it was too little, too late for the Night Hawks. Brown would pour in 14 second half points.  Lee would add 10 points and Williams would chip in eight points, in the half.  Jones would have three rebounds and four 2nd half assists. Baney would pull down four rebounds in the half.   Lightbourne would have two steals in the half.

For the game, Thomas would shoot 34.5% from the field and only 22.2% of their shots from behind the arc.  The Night Hawks would knock down 18/22 free throws, good for 81.8%.  Jailin Lee would lead all scorers with 21 points, along with five rebounds.  Jarvis Brown would finish just behind him with 19 points and four rebounds.  Keon Williams would add 11 points and three rebounds.  Deonta Jones would be the top rebounder  and facilitator for the Night Hawks with seven boards and five assists.  The Night Hawks were emotional as the season closed out.  After the game, Coach Colin Cotter stated that he was proud of the growth of the team, throughout the season, having overcome so much adversity.

After making the NAIA tournament in 2023, the Thomas team hopes to rebound and make it back to the big dance in 2025, after falling short in 2024.  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 Men's Basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksMBKB.