NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (January 12, 2019) – The Webber International University men's basketball team allowed Johnson & Wales University to close out the first half on a big 21-7 run and lead by 14, and the Wildcats never looked back as the Warriors fell by a final score of 95-79 on Saturday afternoon inside the Wildcat Center.
After a 3-pointer by
Simon Fransis tied the game up at 23 points apiece with 8:54 left in the first half, the big run for Johnson & Wales started. In all, the run featured six missed 3-pointers and three 1-for-2 trips from the foul line by the Warriors, leaving much needed points on the board.
In the second half, Webber got within 12 at 47-35 after two free throws and a layup by
Austin Evans less than two minutes in before an 8-1 Johnson & Wales' run expanded the Wildcats' lead to 19 at 55-36 with 16:15 left.
They Warriors had four players in double-digit points, but it was the lack of defense that again came back to haunt them as they let an opponent reach 90 or more points for the fifth time in nine conference games so far this season.
Rasheem Etienne finished with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting overall with a 3-of-5 mark from three and a 5-of-6 mark from the free throw line.
Tommie Luke was next with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting overall and a 5-of-8 mark from the line.
Evans scored 10 points with six rebounds,
Garrett Woodmansee also added 10 points, and
Kevin Grace scored nine points and added seven rebounds.
The loss dropped Webber back to .500 overall on the season at 10-10 and down to 2-7 in The Sun Conference. Johnson & Wales, meanwhile, earned its first win of the entire season to improve to 1-15 and 1-8.
Johnson & Wales, which entered the game ranking 23rd in NAIA Division-II with 10.1 made 3-pointers per game, sank 15 three's against the Warriors and shot over 41 percent from downtown while shooting nearly 49 percent from the field overall. The Wildcats also outscored Webber 38-20 on points in the paint and 12-2 on fast break points as Johnson & Wales truly beat Webber in nearly every facet of the contest.
Webber will now finish up a regular-season series with a fellow TSC opponent for the first time this season as the Warriors host the Gyrenes of Ave Maria University at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 17, inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center. Luke scored a season-high 39 points in the first meeting between the teams back on November 17, a high-scoring eight-point loss for the Warriors at 105-97.
