FMU, WU Set For Conference Title Showdown
Taylor Hodge
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. --- Both semifinal games came down to the final possession on Monday night with Florida Memorial and Warner emerging victorious to advance to Tuesday’s championship game. The two teams will tip-off at 7 p.m. tomorrow night at Florida Memorial.
Semifinal #1: #2 Warner 84, #6 Thomas 83
Sun Conference Player of the Year Warren Hall scored 39 points on 12-of-18 shooting to lead the Warner Royals to an 84-83 win over the six seed Thomas Nighthawks. Warner led by four, 39-35, at the half and extended that lead to double-figures early in the second before Thomas mounted a furious comeback that saw the Nighthawks take the lead with just over two minutes to play.
With the game tied at 81, Hall made a step-back jumper from 15 feet to put Warner ahead by two. On the ensuing possession for Thomas, Katrell Myers made two free throws to tie the game at 83 with 26 seconds remaining. Holding the ball for the final possession, Josh Ellis drove to the basket and was fouled with 0.9 seconds to play. Ellis made the first then intentionally missed the second. After a Thomas timeout, the Nighthawks threw a full-court pass to Ivan Tomic who’s shot just rimmed out as time expired.
Hall was 12-of-18 from the field and made all 13 of his attempts from the free throw line en route to his 39-point effort. He also had seven rebounds. Ellis finished with 17 and Adam Giger added 11 for Warner. The Royals shot 48.3 percent for the game and were 21-of-23 from the free throw line.
Javoris Cooks led Thomas with 28 points and six rebounds. TJ Rines and Tre’ Ford also finished in double-figures for TU with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Thomas shot 50.9 percent from the field and made 13 threes. They were 14-of-19 from the free throw line.
Semifinal #2: #1 Florida Memorial 76, #4 Keiser 74
In the nightcap, Florida Memorial and Keiser went down to the wire in another hard-fought semifinal. After Keiser jumped out to an early lead to start the game, the Lions began to chip away and eventually tied the game with three minutes remaining. The two teams would remain tied at the half at 37-all.
In the second half, it was Keiser, again, that jumped ahead early and led by 10, 64-54, with 7:37 to play. That’s when First Team All-Conference honoree Charlie Nedd-Araujo began to bring FMU back. After converting three free throws, Nedd-Araujo nailed a three on the next possession to cut the deficit to four. A few minutes later, he made another jumper to cut it to two before a Davon Williams jumper gave FMU a 71-70 lead. But Keiser wouldn’t give in and with 2.3 seconds remaining, Stanley Whittaker made a jumper in the lane to tie the game at 74. On the ensuing inbound, a full-court pass ended in a Keiser foul to send Kody Williams to the line. Williams made both free throws to seal a 76-74 win for the Lions.
Nedd-Araujo finished with 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He was 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Kody Williams nad Jaelyn Johnson-Coston each finished with 14 points for the Lions. FMU shot 52 percent on the game and made six threes. They were 18-of-26 from the free throw line.
Stanley Whittaker led Keiser with 23 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Deion McClenton had a big night with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Andrija Sarenac also finished in double-figures with 12 points. Keiser shot 45.5 percent for the game and made nine threes.