BABSON PARK, Fla. (January 13, 2023) – The Webber International University men's basketball team extended its win-streak on Thursday night with a 92-84 victory over Florida Memorial University. It was a tightly contested game that included a total of 20 lead changes in total.
 
The Warriors (12-5 overall, 6-1 SUN) dominated down low as they outscored the Lions (10-9, 1-7) 42-30 on points in the paint. Webber also shot an even 50 percent from the floor and 85.7 from the charity stripe, converting 24 of their 28 free throw attempts. The Warriors now lead the NAIA in team free throw percentage at 80.7.
 
Webber took a slight advantage early on after leading 9-4 after the opening four and a half minutes. A 11-0 run by the Lions earned them their first lead of the game at 15-9. However, momentum swung back in the direction of Webber as they scored eight-straight including a successful and-one by Gavin Buchanon.
 
Trailing by one at 20-19, the Warriors retook the lead thanks to a layup from Tiyon Martin. The game continued back-and-forth as there were five more lead changes over the next two minutes. Florida Memorial caught fire offensively over the next five minutes as they built upon their lead to as many as nine points at 44-35 with 1:19 left in the half. The Warriors ended the half on an 8-1 run that was capped by back-to-back threes by K'Shun Stokes and Orri Hilmarsson, cutting the lead to just two at the break.
 
Florida Memorial did well to sustain its lead over the first five minutes of the second half but two successful free throws by Stokes followed by a three-pointer courtesy of Jordan Golden, leveled the game at 58. Tied again at 60, Stokes would snatch a rebound and go coast-to-coast for a layup that earned Webber the lead once again.
 
The Lions did not back down, however, as there were eight more lead changes over the next five minutes. Stokes once again cut into the lane and converted a fastbreak-layup to earn the Warriors the lead at 73-72. Florida Memorial took the lead once more at 78-77, but only briefly as Stokes slashed to the basket for another layup. The Lions never regained the lead for the remainder of the game as the Warriors held them off to earn their fifth-straight victory.
 
"First and foremost, I want to thank the fans for coming out and showing their support", Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge commented after the game. "We definitely felt it and I thought our guys played with some good energy, especially in the second half. We had good production from the whole team, there were guys that made some key shots and grabbed big rebounds that really helped to turn the tide. This is a tough conference and we know that we have to be able to perform day in and day out, nothing is going to come easy."
 
Stokes led the way offensively as he racked up 32 points, one-point shy of his season-high. He shot 57.9 percent in total and tied his season-high for trips to the line with 12, of which he converted nine. Stokes added seven rebounds, two steals and a block as well on the night. He was followed by Buchanon who came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points in 20 minutes of action.
 
Four players finished with a total of nine points including Hilmarsson, Martin, Golden and Eddie Davis. Golden finished with a game-high 10 rebounds and for the second game in a row, came just one-point shy of a double-double. Jyshaun Melvin contributed eight points and a career-high six assists. Chinecherem Anukaenyi ended the game with five rebounds and added a team-high two blocks in his 12 minutes on the floor.
 
The Warriors will now have to travel to South Florida to take on St. Thomas University this Saturday, January 14th at 4 p.m. The Bobcats are currently 10-1 at home and sit in fifth place in The Sun Conference.