AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (6-14, 3-8) vs. Ave Maria University Gyrenes (14-7, 8-3)
When: January 30, 2020
Where: Florida Memorial, Miami Gardens, Fla. | FMU Wellness Center
Tip-off: 6 p.m.
Last Meeting: Nov. 16, 2019, Loss 90-96
Live Stream Video & Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/fmulions/index.htm
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Florida Memorial University's men still can carve out its own path to a berth in the Sun Conference tournament, but it's going to require a string of wins that needs to begin Thursday night when the Lions host Ave Maria University in the FMU Wellness Center.
The game is scheduled to tip at 8 p.m., but the actual start time will 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game that will precede it.
FMU (6-14, 3-8 Sun Conference) currently sits in ninth place in the TSC standings and is tied with two other teams – College of Coastal Georgia and Thomas University – with a 3-8 conference record. However, the sixth-place team, Warner University, only sports a 4-7 conference mark, which means the door is still open for the Lions to ascend to the sixth spot over their final seven games.
The Lions will enter Thursday's game having dropped its previous game to Webber International University, in a game in which they played without three players – including starting 7-foot center
Mubashar Ali. The junior big man and Sun Conference's leading rebounder missed the game with concussion-like symptoms and it showed as FMU loss the rebound battle and allowed the Warriors to outscore them in points in the paint.
Junior
Quvondo Johnson did his best to make up for Ali's absence, grabbing a game-high 15 boards to go along with his team-high 20 points, but it wasn't enough.
Ali has been cleared to resume athletic activities, but it's unclear if he'll be available to play Thursday night.
In hosting Ave Maria, the Lions will have to contend with one of the Sun Conference's top scorers Leo Behrend. The 6-foot-4 athletic guard averages 21.4 points per game and is capable of hurting a defense with his ability to shoot from the outside as well as drive to the basket.
The Gyrenes defeated FMU 96-90 in their first meeting back in November, a game in which Behrend scored 26 points.
What should work in Florida Memorial's favor is that Johnson nor
Kaleb Darrett weren't available to play in the first matchup between the teams – when FMU held a three-point lead with just over two minutes to play before faltering – and both should have tangible impacts on the game.
