BABSON PARK, Fla. (January 7, 2023) - The Webber International University men's basketball team opened what will be a three-game home stand with a matchup against Thomas University, who are receiving votes in the most recent NAIA Top-25 poll, on Saturday afternoon. A scoring outburst in the second half fueled the Warriors past the Night Hawks, 84-77.

The Night Hawks (12-3 overall, 6-1 SUN) were previously unbeaten in the conference and in firm possession of first place. The win for the Warriors (10-5, 4-1) makes it three-straight and hands Thomas their third loss overall, while also being their biggest margin of defeat. Webber shot 49.2 percent from the floor compared to the 40.9 percent of the Night Hawks.

The Warriors earned their 10th win of the season, marking a new single season coach's record for wins for Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge.

Webber jumped out to an early 7-2 lead after the first three minutes of action and increased that lead to 10-4 following a three-ball by freshman Jyshaun Melvin. An 11-4 run by the Night Hawks over the next four minutes saw them take their first lead of the game at 15-14. Tied at 16, Thomas would catch fire and go on a 9-0 run to lead 25-16 with just under nine minutes left in the half.

Roughly three minutes later, a steal and a fastbreak dunk by the Night Hawks extended their lead to 30-20. K'Shun Stokes responded by drilling a three-pointer off of an assist by Gabriel Divic. Trailing 35-29 with 1:55 on the clock, Stokes would convert an and-one opportunity before Gavin Buchanon poked the ball loose on the ensuing possession which led to an Eddie Davis layup to cut the lead to one at the break.

The Warriors opened the second half with another successful and-one, this time by Davis to regain the advantage. The Night Hawks later tied the game up at 39 with 16 minutes in the half, however, yet another and-one from Stokes gave Webber a three-point lead. The bucket kick-started a 9-2 run by the Warriors over the next minute and a half that was capped by back-to-back threes from Orri Hilmarsson and Melvin.

Webbed increased its lead over the next few minutes to as many as eight points. But Thomas did not back down as it eventually cut the lead to just two at 66-64 with a little under seven minutes left in the game. That is as close as the Night Hawks came, however, as the Warriors did enough to hang on for the victory.

"I cannot say enough about how hard our guys played on defense and how locked into the scouting report they were on offense after such a short turnaround", Coach Rutledge said after the game. "It was a great physical team win against the best team in the conference. Coach Cotter is building a special program at Thomas and it shows as they are a tough team and make the game difficult. They do an outstanding job of pressuring teams into turnovers and forced us into 19 of them tonight. It is something we'll look to work on but I thought we were able to overcome them with how hard we played."

Davis followed up his career-high 28 points last night against Coastal Georgia with a 27-point performance the very next day. He also ended with a career-high 11 rebounds on the day which was good for the first double-double of his collegiate career. He was followed by Stokes who ended one rebound shy of a double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds. He added two assists and two steals as well. Jordan Golden finished with seven total rebounds and contributed a block and a steal on the defensive end.

"I thought a bunch of guys played well tonight, but Eddie was unbelievable", said Rutledge. "He made a bunch of tough shots in key moments as well as some big-time rebounds. K'Shun continues to be a special player on this team with his ability to get in the lane and convert tough shots through contact. His ability to get to the line and convert on a consistent basis makes him one of the best players in the league. We will build off this win and continue to work hard in practice to build a winning program. Go Warriors."

The Warriors now have two more games at home, starting with a matchup against Ave Maria University on Tuesday, January 10th at 7 p.m. Webber then has just one day of rest before hosting the Florida Memorial University Lions on Thursday, January 12th at 7:30 p.m.