Lake Wales, FL – The Webber International Men's Basketball team's late rally was not enough to take down crosstown rival Warner University. The Royals held on late in the second half to secure a 78-70 Sun Conference win over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon.

Webber struck first, opening the game with a 5-0 start, but Warner settled in behind efficient perimeter shooting to take control of the first half. The Wildcats connected on 10 three-pointers in the game and carried a 34-28 advantage into the break after holding Webber to 1-of-9 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

The Royals' biggest separation came after halftime. Warner used a strong stretch on both ends to build its largest lead of the day—23 points (66-43) with 6:39 left—while turning Warrior miscues into points (Warner scored 15 points off turnovers). Webber answered with a push late, trimming the margin to single digits in the final minute, but Warner closed out the win at the free-throw line and with timely buckets in the paint.

Deon Brown led Webber with 18 points, while Nirobi Peeler Jr. added 16 and Thomas Morgan finished with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. As a team, Webber shot 42.6% (26-of-61) from the floor, but was held to 21.7% (5-of-23) from three and 56.5% (13-of-23) at the line.

Warner was paced by Jamal Norris (21 points) and Josh Irwin (20 points), with Bryson Castillo posting a double-double effort on the glass (12 rebounds) to help the Wildcats win the rebounding battle 40-37 and get a major lift from their bench (38 bench points).

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