Men's Basketball Semis Tip-Off Tonight
Taylor Hodge
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. --- The semifinals of the 2017 Sun Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament will tip-off tonight on the campus of Florida Memorial University. The first semifinal between #2 Warner and #6 Thomas will begin at 5 p.m. Top-seed and host Florida Memorial will then take on #4 Keiser at 7 p.m. Both semifinals and the finals will be hosted by Florida Memorial.
Semifinal #1 – Monday, 5 p.m.: #2 Warner (24-4, 12-4 TSC) vs. #6 Thomas (14-9, 8-8 TSC)
Semifinal #2 – Monday, 7 p.m.: #1 Florida Memorial (17-7, 13-3 TSC) vs. #4 Keiser (22-8, 9-7 TSC)
COVERAGE: Live Video | Live Stats
SEMIFINAL #1: WARNER VS. THOMAS
THE ROYALS: Warner finished the regular season with a 24-4 overall record and a 12-4 mark in conference play. The Royals were ranked as high as third in the NAIA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 poll and currently sit in fifth. Warner is led by two-time conference player of the year and 2016 NAIA First Team All-American, Warren Hall. Hall’s 30.7 points per game, which led the NAIA, paced the Royals offense that averaged over 89 points per game. Second Team All-Conference and Conference All-Defensive Team member Nick Macon has done his part to help Warner have the fourth best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NAIA (1.6). Macon was top five in the NAIA in steals/game (2.5), total steals (69), and assists/game (6.8).
THE NIGHTHAWKS: Thomas concluded the regular season with a 14-9 overall record and an 8-8 record in conference play. The Nighthawks upset the tournament three-seed St. Thomas in the opening round, 75-68. Thomas will send out a tough defense to take on the Royals. The Nighthawks have the fifth best field goal percentage defense in the NAIA, allowing opponents to shoot 39.7 percent from the field. They also attack the boards, grabbing over 40 rebounds per game. Thomas has allowed 72.6 points per game. The Nighthawks are led by First Team All-Conference honoree Javoris Cooks. Cooks led Thomas with 18.4 points per game and 24 steals on the year. Thomas has four guys who average over 9.5 points per game and three guys who average over five rebounds a game.
PREVIOUS MATCHUPS: Warner won a pair of extremely close games earlier this season between these two teams. The Royals held off a late rally by Thomas in the first meeting in Thomasville. Warner led by six at the half before escaping with a 76-75 win. In Lake Wales, the Nighthawks again gave Warner all they could handle, pushing the Royals to double-overtime before Warner came away with a 98-88 win.
SEMIFINAL #2: FLORIDA MEMORIAL VS. KEISER
THE LIONS: Led by coach of the year Artis Maddox, Florida Memorial, who went 3-23 three seasons ago, turned in a 17-7 season that saw the Lions go 13-3 in conference play. The Lions won the Sun Conference regular season conference title out-right. In December, the Lions also achieved an NAIA Division II national ranking for the first time since the 2007-08 season when they came in at No. 22 in the Top-25 Coaches poll. They are currently receiving votes in the poll. Florida Memorial is led by a pair of First Team All-Conference selections in Charlie Ned-Araujo and Jaelyn Johnson-Coston. Ned-Araujo also received newcomer of the year accolades. Ned-Araujo averaged 19.5 points per game this season and ranked ninth in the NAIA in three-point field goals made per game at 3.4. Johnson-Coston was also a threat scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game. He also grabbed seven rebounds per game. Florida Memorial had five players average in double-figures scoring and four average more than 5.6 rebounds per game.
THE SEAHAWKS: After a rough stretch in the middle of the season, Keiser righted the ship to finish 23-8 overall and 9-7 in TSC play. The Seahawks protected home court in their opening round game of the conference tournament against Johnson & Wales, defeating the Wildcats 78-65. In this semifinal matchup, Keiser will be led by a pair of First Team All-Conference honorees in Deion McClenton and Stanley Whittaker. McClenton led Keiser in scoring (16.5 ppg), rebounding (10.9 rpg), and blocks (39) while Whittaker had team-best marks in assists (213) and steals (52). Whittaker also tallied 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. McClenton ranked fourth in the NAIA in field goal percentage, making 68.6 percent of his shots. As a team, Keiser boasted the third best scoring defense in the NAIA, allowing 67.7 points per game. They also ranked in the top 10 in assist/turnover ratio (1.5), field goal percentage defense (.410), and assists per game (18.0). Keiser is currently receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll.
PREVIOUS MATCHUPS: Florida Memorial won both meeting between these two teams in the regular season. The Lions defeated the then sixth ranked Seahawks 64-59 in a West Palm Beach on Nov. 11. It was the conference opener for both teams. Both teams shot under 35 percent in that game. In game two at Florida Memorial, Keiser jumped out to a 45-40 halftime lead before the Lions rallied to win the game 84-82. Keiser led the game, 82-81, before Johnson-Coston hit a three for AMU to put them up two with 5.5 seconds remaining.
The winner of Monday night’s semifinals will face off in The Sun Conference Tournament championship game to be play Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.