BABSON PARK, Fla. (January 28, 2021) – After the Warriors fell by three at 68-65 on the road during their last meeting with the Lions on December 5, this time around, the Webber International University men's basketball team never trailed en route to defeating Florida Memorial University 72-64 on Thursday evening inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center.

It was an incredible start to the game for Webber, which started shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 4-for-8 from three to lead 24-7 with 10:40 left in the first half. Conversely, the Lions were only 3-for-16 from the field to that point.

The Warriors then finished the first half up 26 at 45-19 after shooting 51.5 percent (17-33) from the field compared to 24.2 percent (8-33) shooting for FMU.

Webber maintained a 20-point lead until 13 minutes left in the game, and led by double digits until under eight minutes left.

Then with three and a half minutes remaining, the Warriors led by 10 at 66-56 on a 3-pointer by Jaylon Myles, but the Lions battled back to within one possession after a 7-0 run, making it 66-63 with 1:07 left to play.

From there, Rasheem Etienne and Eddie Davis combined to close out the game on 6-for-6 free throw shooting.

Etienne and Davis shot each of Webber's 13 free throws in the game, and were 100 percent from the line as Etienne was 9-for-9 and Davis was 4-for-4.

Etienne finished with 13 points while also adding six rebounds and five assists.

Davis finished with 14 points and was only one rebound shy of a double-double with nine.

The Warrior who did reach his first-career double-double, however, was Loro Natana, who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and career-high in both categories for the junior from Jacksonville, Florida.

Webber's leading scorer was Myles, who finished with 17 points.

"It wasn't the prettiest win, but I'm proud of the way we continued to battle and win a very important game," spoke Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge. "I thought our energy and focus to start the game and most of the first half was great. Again, I appreciate the support from both the fans and the cheerleaders tonight. At this point in the season, finding ways to win is the most important thing. Go Warriors."

Webber improved to 9-14 overall and 5-8 in The Sun Conference, and moved past FMU in the conference standings as the Lions dropped to 5-12 and 5-9 with their fourth straight loss.

Next up, Webber will take on St. Thomas University for the third time this season and for the first time on the road. Game time is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 30, in Miami Gardens, Florida. Earlier this season, the Warriors defeated St. Thomas 67-54 on December 3 before falling 63-48 on January 14.