LAKELAND, Fla. (February 25, 2023) - Competing in The Sun Conference Tournament Semifinal for the first time since 2012-2013, the Webber International University men's basketball team battled the No. 1-seeded Southeastern University Fire on Friday night. The Warriors fought hard as the game went wire to wire, but came up just short in the end, 68-61.

There was not much to separate the two teams in this one as the Warriors (16-14 overall) shot 38.6 percent from the floor and an even 40 from beyond the arc. Comparatively, Southeastern (17-12) shot 35.1 percent in total and 28.6 percent from deep.

The first half was extremely competitive as both sides played hard-nose defense and momentum shifted back-and-forth. A three-pointer from Jyshaun Melvin earned the Warriors the lead at 20-19 but a layup by the Fire took it right back. Roughly a minute later, Webber sank another three, this time from K'Shun Stokes to earn a two-point lead. After forcing Southeastern into a turnover, Jovon Rosse came off the bench to deliver a long-range bucket of his own, gifting the Warriors their biggest lead of the game at 26-21.

Southeastern, however, was able to battle back over the ensuing four minutes to tie the game up at 30 heading into the halftime break.

The Warriors started the second half strong thanks to a layup followed by two successful free throws by Stokes. Webber held on to that lead for the next 13 minutes of the second half before a three-point shot earned the Fire a two-point lead with 7:15 on the clock. The Warriors did everything they could to regain the lead but Southeastern was able to hold them off and earn its spot in the championship final.

Stokes led the way with 18 points, four rebounds, and two assists while senior Eddie Davis followed close behind with 15 points and five rebounds. The freshman-guard Melvin ended with a team-high three assists to go with 10 points and six rebounds. Jordan Golden led the team in rebounds with eight and added six points as well. Chinecherem Anukaenyi tallied six rebounds and four points while Rosse came off the bench to score seven points in just six minutes of action.

Webber ends the season with an overall record of 16-14, tied for the most wins since the 2012-2013 season, which also happened to be Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge's senior season as a player. That same season is also the last time that Webber reached the conference tournament semifinal. The win over Keiser University in the quarterfinal round is the Warriors' first Sun Conference Tournament victory since the 2014-2015 season.