AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (5-11, 2-5) at Johnson & Wales University Wildcats (5-10, 1-6)
When: January 16, 2020
Where: Johnson & Wales University, North Miami, Fla. | Wildcat Center
Tip-off: 8 p.m. *(30 minutes following women's game)
Last Meeting: Feb. 2, 2019, Win 80-75
Live Stream Video & Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/jwunm/portal.htm?eventId=558454&streamType=video
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – There's an old adage that says "Rome wasn't built in a day", attesting to the need for time to create something great.
While things haven't gone exactly the way Florida Memorial University's men would have like them to this season, the Lions have shown much improvement from the 2018-19 season and can create a landmark in as much when it looks to capture a road win against Sun Conference foe Johnson & Wales University Thursday.
The Lions (5-11, 2-5 Sun Conference) matched their win total from this past season when it defeated Thomas University a week ago and can exceed that number if their able to knock off the Wildcats in what is expected to be a raucous crowd for the second game of a women's-men's doubleheader.
Things have been trending upward for FMU second-year head coach
Ansar Al-Ameen and his team since the calendar flipped to 2020. Entering Thursday's game, the Lions haven't lost consecutive games since January 1st.
Following their one-point win over Thomas University this past Thursday, FMU dropped a tough one in the second game of their two-game road trip to Georgia this past week, falling to Coastal Georgia 96-90 in overtime after leading by five with less than 30 seconds left in regulation. Conventional wisdom and trend analysis would say that the Lions are due for a victory Thursday.
Florida Memorial's recent success has been a product of their top players playing like top players are expected to play.
Senior guard
Jordan Martin had a more than solid weekend of action this past week. The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter knocked down 4-of-6 three-pointers in one game and followed that up with a team-leading 29-point, 9-rebound performance. Junior guard
Kaleb Darrett also turned in a season-best performance in Georgia, scoring 35 points in the Lions' win over Thomas University.
What FMU will see in Johnson and Wales Thursday is a team that has lost its past two games by an average of 23.5 points. The Wildcats (5-10, 1-5) rely heavily on guards Dante Pace (14.7 PPG) and Alex Doane (13.9 PPG), but both measures right around 6-feet – which means FMU's physical backcourt of Darrett, Martin, and
Quvondo Johnson should be able to knock around Pace and Doane on both ends of the court.
Also, Florida Memorial should have big advantage in the frontcourt. As is the case on most nights, Lions 7-foot junior center
Mubashar Ali won't have a physical equal on the opposing team and should be able to add to his nation-leading rebounding numbers. 6-foot-9 junior
Cheikh Kebe will also tower over whoever guards him since JWU's tallest player – 6-foot-8 sophomore Kevin Rostamian – will be busy trying to contend with Ali.
