MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Despite having three players finish with at least 20 points – led by 25-point performance from
Freddy Reeves Jr. – Florida Memorial lost its second straight game in overtime Saturday, falling 94-91 to Sun Conference and neighborhood rival St. Thomas University in the Fernandez Family Center.
Tied at 77 at the end of regulation, the teams – whose campuses are separated by less than two miles in Miami Gardens – continued the intense back-and-forth through the first two-and-a-half minutes of overtime. It looked like the Lions (2-7, 1-3 Sun Conference) had seized control when they took an 85-82 lead with 2:38 left after
Jordan Martin put in a tough layup through contact and sank the and-one free throw to complete the three-point play.
St. Thomas responded, however, responded with an 8-0 run – to take a 90-85 lead with 35 seconds to play – that ended up being the proverbial straw for Florida Memorial. The Bobcats (4-2, 2-2) held FMU at bay over the final half-minute by knocking down free throws while the Lions watched a desperation heave from just across half court hit the backboard and leave the final margin at 94-91.
Falling short Saturday not only lengthens FMU's string of consecutive losses, but it also deepens the Lions' hole in the Sun Conference standings. Instead of sinking the rival Bobcats, who got matching 23-point performances from Justin Brown and Ahmad Gilbert, FMU now has a steeper climb from its 1-3 conference mark.
The bright spot Saturday was the way in which Reeves earned his game-high 25 points. It came on an efficient 8-for-13 shooting performance from the field while the freshman Minneapolis, Minnesota native also knocked down 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
Omar Outar scored 20 points while playing a game-high 39 minutes Saturday. Junior center
Mubashar Ali finished with a double-double – notching 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds, further padding his country-best rebounding numbers.
The Lions, who led St. Thomas by as many as 11 during the second half, also got 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists from
Jordan Martin.
