BABSON PARK, Fla. – The Warriors started the 2009-2010 season in remarkable fashion Thursday night, extinguishing the Southeastern University Fire, 72-44. Halston Schaffer led all players in scoring (21) and rebounding (8).

 

After a Dynami Thurman 3 pointer gave the Fire an early lead, Schaffer went to work immediately. He followed up two quick buckets in the paint with a smooth 3-pointer in transition to give the Warriors' their first lead (7-5), a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the evening. This forced Southeastern coach, and former Webber coach, JohnDunlap into calling a timeout. When the game resumed, the Warriors continued dowsing the Fire. A Luke Marlar layup and 2 thundering Tyrell Harper dunks within moments of each other sent the fans in Sabbagh gymnasium into a frenzy, put the Warriors up 13-5, and forced Southeastern to call their second timeout in as many minutes.

 

Twelve different players scored for the Warriors, who rolled the rest of the way. In addition to Schaffer's 21, Harper finished with 10, L. Marlar had 8, and Mark Marlar and Gabe Rutledge chipped in 6 a piece. As usual, Tyler Hoevenaar orchestrated   the Warriors offense, finishing the game with 8 assist.The Warriors played outstanding defense as well, highlighted by L. Marlar's ability to hold last year's NCCAA South Region player of the year and first team all-American Nate Marshall to just 2 points on 1-8 shooting.

 

WIU coach John Shoffner was pleased with the team's performance. “I was really pleased with the effort we got from the guys,” said Shoffner. “We saw a lot of positives but we still have some work to do to get to where we want to be when the conference games roll around in January. Overall, you have to be pleased when you play that well and get that much support from students and fans in a season opener.”

 

The Warriors start their season off 1-0, while the Fire slipped to 0-1. The Warriors continue the regular season November 6-7, in the Brewton Parker Classic in Mt. Vernon, Georgia. The Warriors will take on Brewton Parker, Friday at 8p.m., and Southern Polytechnic State University on Saturday at 2p.m. They will play again in Sunshine State on Monday, November 9^th, when they will travel to Gainesville where they will battle it out against the University of Florida Gators.