Babson Park, FL – The Webber International Men's Basketball team defended home court Wednesday night, outlasting Crooked Lake Rivals Warner University 85-80 in a SUN Conference matchup in Babson Park.
After a back-and-forth opening stretch, the Warriors found rhythm from the perimeter and carried a 40-36 lead into halftime. Webber built its first-half cushion on timely threes, including a Mikel Forrest triple that pushed the advantage to 32-25 with 5:05 remaining in the opening period.
The second half stayed tight, but Webber again created separation behind Landon Tillman. Tillman's jumper at the 5:08 mark gave the Warriors their largest lead of the night at 71-63, and Webber continued to answer each Warner push down the stretch. Tillman's layup with 1:29 left made it 78-70 before the Royals trimmed the deficit to four with 37 seconds remaining.
The final moments turned into a free-throw battle. Webber hit four straight at the line in the final 15 seconds to keep the Royals at bay, and Deon Brown sealed the win with two free throws with one second left to set the final at 85-80.
Tillman led all scorers with 28 points to go with five assists, while Johnny Torrence Jr. provided a huge lift off the bench with 14 points in 14 minutes. Brown added 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Warner was paced by Bryson Castillo (20 points) and Jack Voth (16 points, nine rebounds, six assists).
As a team, Webber knocked down 11 three-pointers and shot 39.3% from deep, committing just six turnovers on the night.
After the win, Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge praised his team's toughness in a rivalry match.
"Wins against your cross-lake rival come down to toughness and execution, and our guys delivered tonight. Any time we play Warner, you know the intensity is going to be high. I'm proud of how our guys handled the moment, stayed disciplined, and found a way to win against a well-coached team. Our defense and rebounding, along with stepping up to make shots when opportunities were there, carried us against a team that knows us well. Big shoutout to all the Warrior fans who showed up and brought great energy. Go Warriors."
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