LAKE WALES, Fla. – The Thomas Night Hawks erased a seven-point deficit in the final five minutes but couldn't hold on, falling 89-86 to the Warner Royals on Thursday night.
Devon Rainey's layup with 2:02 left capped an 11-2 Night Hawks run and gave Thomas an 86-84 lead. Warner answered with the game's final five points, all at the free-throw line, taking the lead for good with 36 seconds left and sealing it with two free throws at the nine-second mark.
Maxx Martinez led Thomas with 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range. He added six rebounds and three steals before fouling out with nine seconds left. 17 of Martinez's points came in the first half.
Walt Hill Jr. had 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, hit 3 of 4 from deep and added six assists and four steals. Rainey scored 13 points, 11 of them after halftime, and Oakley Lewis Jr. added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Chris Dorbor had eight points, five rebounds and four blocks. Derald Blackmon finished with eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Thomas shot 62.5% (20 of 32) in the first half and closed the period on a 26-14 run over the final 8:52 to lead 50-40 at the break. Hill made all five of his field goal attempts in the half, and Dorbor's putback with 42 seconds left gave the Night Hawks their 10-point cushion.
Thomas pushed the lead to 63-52 on a pair of Martinez free throws at 13:38 of the second half, its largest of the night. Warner chipped away and took control with an 11-0 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers, to lead 82-75 with 4:49 left.
Rainey started the comeback with a 3-pointer. After a Blackmon steal, Hill buried a 3 off a Rainey assist to cut it to 84-83, and Blackmon tied it with a free throw at 2:40.
The Night Hawks shot 52.6% from the field and 50% from 3-point range (8 of 16) but went 18 of 27 at the line (66.7%). Warner made 21 of 26 (80.8%). Thomas forced 14 turnovers and recorded 11 steals and six blocks.
Thomas will be back on the court tomorrow afternoon against Webber International at 3 p.m.
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