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Florida Memorial University Athletics

Scoreboard

FMU player
Charles Bethel Jr.
72
Winner Florida Memorial FMUM 2-5, 2-2 (TSC)
69
Southeastern (Fla.) SEUM2021 8-3, 3-2 (TSC)
Winner
Florida Memorial FMUM
2-5, 2-2 (TSC)
72
Final
69
Southeastern (Fla.) SEUM2021
8-3, 3-2 (TSC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Florida Memorial FMUM 38 34 72
Southeastern (Fla.) SEUM2021 35 34 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director

Lions Extinguish Fire, Topple Southeastern 72-69

LAKELAND, Fla. – Sam Mack led all scorers with 23 points, Aubrey Washington added 16 points, and Mubashar Ali recorded his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Florida Memorial University toppled host Southeastern University 72-69 Saturday afternoon in The Furnace.
 
The Lions trailed 66-61 with just under six minutes left in the second half but went on an elongated 9-0 run over the next five and a half minutes – sparked by a Cheikh Kebe three-pointer and carried a personal six-point run by Washington – to take a 70-66 lead.
 
Southeastern drew within a point again with two seconds left on the clock – thanks to a pair of free throws, but FMU's lead was pushed back to three after Washington calmly sank another pair of free throws after the Fire intentionally fouled him to stop the clock.
 
SEU threw up an unsuccessful desperation heave as the final buzzer sounded, cementing Florida Memorial's 72-69 victory.
 
Mack's 23 was his second-highest scoring output of the season, and he manufactured it with his most efficient shooting performance up to this point of the season. The Chicago, Illinois native shot 50 percent from the field, was 4-of-7 from the three-point line, and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
 
Also, Ali's 5 offensive rebounds Saturday allowed him to eclipse 100 offensive rebounds for his career – giving him 102.
 
Saturday's win does a lot of good things for the Lions.
 
Chiefly, it catapulted FMU (3-5, 3-2) into a tie for second place in the Sun Conference standings. The Lions now share the No. 2 spot with Warner University and sit just a half-game back of the conference's top team – Ave Maria University.
 
The Lions, who will now get to enjoy the winter holiday break and won't return to action until January 2nd, have also now won consecutive games for the first time this season. Though Florida Memorial did play a pair of exhibitions against NCAA Division-I opponents this past week, neither counted towards the team's record or stats, keeping the win streak intact.
 
In a game that was mostly a seesaw battle, two big reasons why the Lions were able to carve out the win was their shooting from the free throw line and their effort on the glass. Florida Memorial went a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line and won the rebound battle – two factors that head coach Ansar Al-Ameen has stressed to his team this season.
 
Kebe gave the Lions 7 points and 8 boards, Terence Clayton chipped in with 5 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds, and Italo Ciccotti contributed 4 points and a rebound off the bench – receiving his first game action of the season.
 
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