Babson Park, FL – The Webber International Men's Basketball team built a big lead and then held off a late charge from Florida National University on Wednesday evening, grinding out a 67–65 non-conference victory after a late Conquistador foul inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center Wednesday night.
The Warriors controlled the opening 20 minutes behind a balanced attack and active defense, forcing seven first-half turnovers and turning them into six points the other way while outscoring the Conquistadors 18–16 in the paint. Webber led by as many as 16 late in the half and took a 36–24 advantage into the locker room. The edge grew to a game-high 17 early in the second half before Florida National began to chip away, using its inside scoring and bench production to close the gap.
Down the stretch, Webber leaned on its guards and the free-throw line to secure the result. Nirobi Peeler Jr. paced the Warriors with 15 points on an ultra-efficient 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, giving Webber timely perimeter punch whenever FNU made a run. Landon Tillman flirted with a double-double, stuffing the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while going a perfect 8-for-8 at the stripe, including the game winning free throws with 1.2 seconds left on the clock. Johnny Torrence Jr. added 13 points, six boards and three assists, and Ethan Taylor chipped in seven points and four rebounds.
In the frontcourt, Thomas Morgan finished with six points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Mikel Forrest provided an efficient four points off the bench. As a team, Webber shot 41.1 percent from the floor, 40.0 percent from three and 75.0 percent at the line, owning a slight 30–27 edge on the glass and outscoring FNU 34–36 in points in the paint and 10–16 in points off turnovers. The Warriors also got 12 points from their reserves and registered eight steals on the night in the two-point home win.
After the game, Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge was happy with his teams effort and energy throughout the game.
"We had good energy off the bench, especially in the first half was great, energy obviously doesn't show up in the boxscore, but the bench brought in some great energy, timely defensive stops and timely baskets. I thought our guys did a tremendous job of coming and, we've been working these past few practices fixing some of the things that have been hurting us early in the year, but I thought for the most part a lot of positive energy."
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