LAKE WALES, Fla. - The Warner University men’s basketball team welcomed the No. 12 St. Thomas University (Fla.) Bobcats to the Turner Athletic Center for Sun Conference action on Wednesday night. The last time the two sides met in Miami, St. Thomas managed to secure a narrow 69-65 win back on January 9.
St. Thomas would start with an early lead, and did not surrender it for the entire first half. The Royals did not back off however, as they managed to keep things very close at 40-39 after the first half. A big part of the Royals' attack in the first half was Halstead Chiverton, who finished with 23 points at the break. Kayo Taylor went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for eight points, while also grabbing four boards. As a team the Royals went 13-for-21 from the field, for an efficient 61.9%. Chiverton’s 4-for-6 from behind the arc helped Warner finish the first half with a smoldering 57.1% from deep.
As Chiverton cooled off a bit in the second half, Ray Victor took control of the game for Warner. Victor led the team with 14 points in the second half, while Mark St. Fort added another nine. Victor helped keep the Royals in the game until they finally managed to take the lead with just under ten minutes to go. From that point on the Royals led by as many as seven points, but the Bobcats hung in it until the very end. Victor iced the game with four seconds left with a pair of free throws to give Warner a strong 83-79 win over St. Thomas.
Halstead Chiverton finished with a game-high 30 points, going 5-for-10 from deep. Scoring all 14 of his points in the second half, Ray Victor went 3-for-4 from the field, a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc and a solid 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. The two big men, Kayo Taylor and Mark St. Fort, finished with 11 points and seven rebounds apiece respectively. The Royals had nine blocks as a team, which certainly helped offset their 24 turnovers in the game. Chiverton and Lartereo Shaw each led the team with two blocks each.
The win was huge for the Royals in terms of The Sun Conference Standings. Warner now is tied with Florida Memorial University at 4-8 in conference play, but because of the Royals beating Florida Memorial earlier in the season holds the tie-breaker currently. It is important for Warner to come out on top in their game against the Lions this coming Saturday in Miami Gardens. After downing No. 12 St. Thomas on Wednesday night, the Royals improve to 15-11 (4-8 TSC), while the Bobcats drop to 18-7 (8-4 TSC). The Royals upcoming game against FMU has a tip time scheduled for 7 p.m.