Feb. 20, 2008

Box Score

Miami Gardens, Fla. - Freshman forward Ian Gregory's free throw with 55 seconds left gave St. Thomas a lead, that they would not relinquish, on its way to a 69-64 win over Florida Memorial. Four Bobcats scored in double-figures, led by Antonio Jones with 15 points, to split the season series with Florida Memorial at 1-1.

St. Thomas (10-16, 4-9) jumped to an early 24-11 lead to quite an energetic Florida Memorial crowd. Florida Memorial (12-14, 4-9) recovered from the deficit by shooting 90 percent (9-10) from the free throw line, spurring a 12-0 run, to take a 32-30 lead at the half.

The Bobcats were down 39-32 early in the second half when the Bobcats defense changed the game. St. Thomas defensive pressure and intensity forced Florida Memorial's turnovers.

Gregory, Jones and Eli Hernandez converted shots to tie the game at 51-51. Ceser Chavez Jacob's steal led to a layup by Tracy Razz to tie the game at 59-59 with 3:47 remaining. Razz drilled a three-pointer on the Bobcats' next possession to give St. Thomas a 62-59 lead.

St. Thomas showed great poised and discipline, on both ends of the court, as the game reached the final minute tied at 64-64. Gregory converted one-of-two free throws to hand the Bobcats a narrow 65-64 advantage. FMU's Tramaine Stevens missed jumper was rebounded by Patrick Louissaint. Chavez and Jones calmly netted a pair of free throws to end the game.

St. Thomas defensive pressure led to 12 points from FMU's turnovers and outscored the Lions 13-5 in second chance points.

The Bobcats final regular season game is at Northwood on February 23 at 7:00 pm.