TIFTON, Ga. - The Night Hawks never trailed after the opening 14 seconds and dominated in a 92-65 win over Beacon College on Saturday at Gressette Gymnasium.
Beacon's only lead was 1-0 on a free throw 21 seconds in. Oakley Lewis Jr. answered with two free throws at 19:26 to give Thomas a 2-1 lead. Thomas led 48-32 at the break after winning the first-half rebounding battle 32-11.
Beacon cut the lead to 54-42 early in the second half on a pair of threes from the Blazers. Thomas answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a Martinez dunk off a Walt Hill assist, for a 63-42 lead at 11:26. Chris Dorbor, Bryant Graham-Davis and Ja'Mari Favors then hit three triples in 81 seconds to make it 74-49.
Beacon answered with a 7-0 run to get within 76-56, but Thomas closed on a 9-0 run for an 87-58 lead with 2:33 left, its biggest of the night at 29. Beacon went 3:36 without a field goal. Dorbor's steal and fast-break layup with 23 seconds left made it 92-63. Garrett Oravetz blocked Beacon's last shot and grabbed the rebound.
Thomas outrebounded Beacon College 55-27 and never trailed after the opening 34 seconds in a 92-65 win Saturday at Gressette Gymnasium. The Night Hawks improved to 2-0, and Beacon fell to 0-2.
Ryan Williams led Thomas with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Jeremy Anderson and Devon Rainey each added 15. Anderson also had eight rebounds and three assists, and Rainey went 8-of-9 at the line. Lewis Jr. grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Thomas turned 18 offensive rebounds into 27 second-chance points to Beacon's nine. The Night Hawks outscored Beacon 48-20 in the paint and 51-18 off the bench. They committed 15 turnovers to Beacon's nine but still won points off turnovers, 13-9. Beacon shot 30.6 percent (22-of-72), while Thomas shot 46.7 percent (35-of-75).
Thomas travels to Lake Wales, Fla., to face Warner University on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. ET at the Turner Athletic Center.
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