The Florida Memorial University Lions (3-11, 0-5 TSC) took on the 5th ranked Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene University (9-1) from Ohio at the FMU Wellness Center on Tuesday night. 

The Cougars came into this contest as the 5th ranked team in the NAIA and the FMU Lions gave them all that they could handle. The Cougars had been averaging over 90 points per game and the FMU Lions put up a strong defensive effort to stay competitive in this contest. The Lions defense forced the Cougars into poor shooting percentage from the field and from 3-point range (45% and 34%). The final score was 62-74 in favor of the Cougars. 

The score at halftime was 30-42 as the Cougars used a 14 point run midway through the first half. The second half was a different story as the Lions tightened up their defense and kept the Cougars to only 32 points. However, the Cougars defense kept the Lions from getting into any kind of rhythm. Late in the second half the Lions were able to get within 4 points but the Cougars pulled away again scoring in bunches and built a commanding lead as they captured the victory 62-74. 

Leading the way for the Lions was William Phelps with 21 points. Kase Carrera did not have a good game on the stats sheet but his energy with a strong defensive effort was huge for the Lions. As a team the Lions had 6 steals and 5 blocks. 

Catch the Lions at FIU on Thursday, Dec. 20th at 7:00 p.m. as they take on Florida International University.