BABSON PARK, Fla. (January 17, 2019) – The Webber International University men's basketball team began the second half of the 2018-19 Sun Conference schedule with a thrilling, back-and-forth contest against Ave Maria University on Thursday night inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center. However, in the end, the Warriors fell by three in double overtime, 100-97.

It was a game where neither team ever led by double digits, and was one that featured nine ties, 10 lead changes and 26 combined made 3-pointers.

That theme of back-and-forth action certainly played out in the second overtime period as an alley-oop lay-in by Tommie Luke from Rasheem Etienne 15 seconds in put Webber up 87-85, and then the Warriors came from behind to take a one-point lead two more times in the period. Another layup by Luke made it 93-92 Warriors with 2:15 left, and then two free throws by Etienne made it 95-94 Webber with only 1:05 left to play.

After the Gyrenes connected on a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, Luke responded with a fast break layup only eight seconds later to tie the game up for a final time at 97-97.

With only nine seconds left, a layup by the Gyrenes, followed by a Warrior turnover, led to two free throws for Ave Maria with only three seconds left. A miss on the first attempt left the door open for the Warriors, but a make on the second shot led to a desperation heave from half court for Webber that was not meant to be.

Etienne paced Webber with a team-high 17 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three and 6-for-11 shooting overall, and was one of five Warriors in double figures in scoring. It was Etienne's highest-scoring effort since November 15, 2018.

Malik Morrow added 15 points and had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks while matching Etienne with a 6-for-11 effort from the field with three 3-pointers. Kevin Grace also scored 15 points and sank four of his six shots from 3-point range, his most makes from three all season long.

Luke was next with 14 points, five rebounds and a career-high nine assists; and Austin Evans added 12 points while Nicholas Blocker scored nine points with six rebounds and a career-best three blocks.

Last but not least, making his Warrior debut on Thursday was Chetachukwu Oliver, who came up big with nine points and four rebounds while shooting 3-of-5 from the field. Additionally, it was Oliver who took control early in the first overtime period with three made free throws on four attempts, a defensive rebound and a deflection to put Webber up by three, 76-73, only 50 seconds into the first extra period.

Webber fell to 10-11 overall and 2-8 in The Sun Conference while Ave Maria improved to 13-7 and 6-4, improving its current winning streak to five straight games. It took 10 additional minutes for the two teams in this one to approach the score of the first meeting between the squads back on November 17, 2018, which finished with a 105-97 win for the Gyrenes.

Next up for Webber is a road game with the first-place team in The Sun Conference, No. 11 Southeastern University, at 7 p.m. on January, February 19, in Lakeland, Florida, followed by a nonconference home game against Trinity Baptist College at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 21. The game on Monday will be the Warriors' final nonconference game of the 2018-19 campaign.