MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (January 25, 2020) – The Webber International University men's basketball team earned an important Sun Conference victory on the road on Saturday, defeating Florida Memorial University 80-73 inside the FMU Wellness Center.

It was the third conference win in four ties for Webber (12-10 overall, 5-6 The Sun Conference), which avoided the season sweep against Florida Memorial (6-14, 3-8) and defeated the Lions for the third time in their last four meetings. The win, combined with Warner University's (15-8, 4-7) 87-55 loss at St. Thomas University (14-4, 7-4), put the Warriors in sole possession of fifth place in The Sun Conference Men's Basketball standings.

It was also the third win in three tries for the Warriors at Florida Memorial during Webber's three seasons under the direction of Head Coach Allen Corbin.

"Tonight's game was a very physical one," said Coach Corbin. "My guys really battled and fought through a ton of adversity. We had to grind one out on the road and it was great for us and our confidence moving forward."

The first meeting this season between Webber and FMU back on November 21, in Babson Park, Florida, a heartbreaking 89-88 defeat for the Warriors, featured eight ties and nine lead changes, and somehow Saturday's game in Miami Gardens, Florida, topped that with 10 ties and 10 lead changes.

The Warriors led by as much as 11 points in the first half at 29-18 following a 3-pointer by newcomer Kris Goettert with 6:30 left before halftime.

However, the Lions proceeded the open up the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 40-39 lead, their first lead since the 13:30 mark in the first half when the score was only 10-8 in favor of FMU.

There were then five more ties and five more lead changes over the next four minutes of action before a jumper by Tommie Luke broke the final tie of the game and put Webber up 57-55 with nine minutes left to play.

Webber would never give the lead back, but FMU stayed to within two possessions of the Warriors until with less than two minutes left when Luke scored again to make it a seven-point game at 72-65.

Ariel Watson added a jumper with under a minute left to make it 74-65 and then Rasheem Etienne put the Warriors up 10 at 75-65 on a free throw with 44 seconds to go.

Watson finished with a game-high 21 points and added seven rebounds and four assists for a strong all-around performance.

Goettert recorded his first double-double as a Warrior with a career-high in both points (18) and rebounds (10). He also added three blocks and two steals.

Luke scored 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field; Javonni Quince matched Goettert by reaching 10 rebounds for the fifth time as a freshman; Malik Morrow added nine boards; Jaylon Myles had nine points, seven rebounds and three steals; and Etienne also had nine points.

In all, five different Warriors has seven or more rebounds in the game.

The Warriors will next be in action on Thursday, January 30, as they travel to West Palm Beach, Florida, to take on the No. 14-ranked team in NAIA Division-II men's basketball, Keiser University. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.