MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (December 5, 2020) – The three-game winning streak for the Webber International University men's basketball team came to an end on Saturday as the Warriors fell by a close score of 68-65 against Florida Memorial University inside the FMU Wellness Center.

It was a slow start for both teams as only six minutes into the game, it was only 4-2 Florida Memorial as both teams had four turnovers.

Additionally, both teams started the game 1-for-9 from the field, and neither team led by more than three points in the first half.

The lone 3-point lead of the half for Webber came with only a minute left before the break as a 6-0 run featuring a jumper by Eddie Davis, a layup by Rasheem Etienne and then another jumper by Davis with 1:02 on the clock erased a three-point deficit and made it 31-28 Warriors.

Eitenne (15 points) and Davis (10 points) combined for 25 of Webber's 31 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Both teams had as many turnovers as they did made field goals (10) in the first half while Webber was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the period.

In the second half, FMU started the period with a 12-2 run to go up by nine at 42-33, and then the Lions went up by 10 at 47-37 with 14:40 left to play.

The Warriors, however, would not go down without a fight, and used strong free throw shooting to stay in the game and score with the clock stopped.

Two free throws by Etienne got Webber's deficit back down to six at 52-46 with 10:13 left, and then two free throws by Jaylon Myles made it a five-point game at 58-53 with 7:03 remaining. The Warriors were 15-for-18 from the free throw line to that point.

A little over a minute later, Myles hit a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game at 62-58 with 5:55 left, and then the Warriors got it down to two at 64-62 thanks to a jumper by Loro Natana with 3:44 on the clock.

Two more free throws by Myles made it a three-point game at 68-65 with 1:43 remaining, but that would be the final points in the game as Webber missed three 3-pointers in the final minute trying to tie the game, and could not take advantage of three missed free throws by the Lions in the final 10 seconds.

The Warriors finished the game shooting 18-for-24 (75 percent) from the free throw line, but were only 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from three.

Etienne led the Warriors with a season-high 20 points, a career-best eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, a team-high in all four categories. Myles finished with 17 points and Davis finished with 10. Etienne (6-7), Davis (6-7) and Myles (6-8) all finished with six made free throws as well.

"Today was a tough road loss against a really good Florida Memorial basketball team," spoke Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge. "We had great energy on the defensive end in the first half, but left too many points out on the floor. I'm proud of our guys for continuing to fight throughout the second half. We came up a little short tonight, but we will continue to grow as a program. Go Warriors." 

With its three-game winning streak over, Webber fell back to below .500 both overall (5-6) and in The Sun Conference (2-3) while Florida Memorial snapped its four-game losing streak to improve to 2-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

After a week off, the Warriors will return to action looking to start a new winning streak at Edward Waters College. The Warriors and the Tigers will play first at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 12, in Jacksonville, Florida, and will then play again three days later at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15, in Babson Park, Florida.