AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (8-17, 6-10) at No. 18 Keiser University Seahawks (21-5, 13-3)
When: Thursday, February 20, 2020
Where: Keiser University, West Palm Beach, Fla. | Massimino Court
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m.* (30 minutes following women's game)
Last Meeting: Jan. 18, 2020, Loss 80-88
Live Stream Video & Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/keiser/
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Florida Memorial University's men's postseason hopes will be on the line when they travel to West Palm Beach, Florida to take on No. 18 Keiser University and Sun Conference-leading scorer Mark Gordon Thursday night at KU's Massimino Court.
The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m., but will officially tip-off 30 minutes following the conclusion of the preceding women's game – scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
FMU has played its way back into the Sun Conference postseason tournament conversation, winning three of its past four games – including back-to-back wins this past Thursday and Saturday – to climb into a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings.
The top six teams in the standings qualify for the postseason tournament, and the Lions (8-17, 6-10 Sun Conference) currently have the same conference record as College of Coastal Georgia and Webber International University – also holding a 1-1 head-to-head record against both teams. Florida Memorial would need to win out – defeating Keiser on Thursday and Johnson & Wales University on Saturday (Feb. 22) – and then receive some help in the form of losses by Webber International and Coastal Georgia.
Job one, though, is to topple the Seahawks.
Keiser University did defeat FMU in their first matchup this season. The then-14th-ranked Seahawks got 29 points from Gordon as he ended up making more free throws (13) himself than the Lions did as a team (13). It was not a game in which the Lions just rolled over, though. Florida Memorial led by as many as 10 late in the first half and was up by as many as seven in the second before the Seahawks rallied back.
Lions junior guard
Kaleb Darrett went tit-for-tat with Gordon for much of the game. Darrett came off the bench to score a team-high 24 points and grabbed seven boards while also nabbing away four steals.
Mubashar Ali had a double-double (14 points and 13 rebounds) and Quvondon Johnson added 16 points, but the Lions weren't able to make plays down the stretch that would've keep the Seahawks at bay and earned them an "upset" victory.
Toppling Keiser (21-5, 13-3) on its home floor won't be an easy task, but Lions head coach
Ansar Al-Ameen has shown – even if not resulting in a victory – that he can build a game plan that can be successful against the Seahawks.
Gordon is a talented scorer that has the ability to earn his points on most nights against most defenses, FMU's success will lie in its ability to keep Gordon's teammates in check. In January, Florida Memorial allowed three other Keiser players to have productive nights – including a 20-point performance from Marko Orlic and a double-double from Chance Anderson.
Offensively, the Lions would benefit greatly if they got another shooting performance out of senior guard
Omar Outar like they did this past Saturday. Playing in place of injured senior guard
Jordan Martin, Outar knocked down a season-high seven three-pointers to score 23 points – matching his point total from the previous five games combined.
If Outar's shot continues to fall – and Martin makes a healthy return – it would be the extra boost needed to go along with the expected production out of Johnson, Darrett, and Ali.
