MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – There's an oft-used platitude in sports that says "you're only as good as your last game".
Given the way Florida Memorial University's men's last game of the season went, one could say that the Lions are quite good.
Junior
Quvondo Johnson scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as he was one of six FMU players to score in double-figures in what was – arguably – the team's best performance of the season in a 101-51 drubbing of visiting Johnson and Wales University Saturday afternoon in the FMU Wellness Center.
The Lions completely dominated, stretching their 20-point halftime lead out to 50 by the end of the night – essentially turning the contest into a glorified pickup game that featured highlight-worthy dunks and deep three-pointers that excited the already-rollicking crowd on hand.
FMU was so comfortable in its lead late in the second half, the team began having a friendly competition to see who would be the one to score the basket that would push the score into triple-digits.
Senior guard
Omar Outar thought he be the one, but his deep step-back three-pointer only drew iron and bounced into the hands of guard
Kase Carrera, who then drove to the basket and laid in an easy finger roll to put the Lions ahead 101-50 with 36 seconds left to play.
Johnson's 25 came on an efficient 12-of-16 shooting; Outar knocked down five three-pointers to total his 15 points;
Cheikh Kebe added 15 points in 15 minutes of action;
Kyle Young also had 15 point to go along with 13 boards; while
Mubashar Ali and
Kaleb Darrett each finished with 10 points.
Darrett nearly "messed around" and got a triple-double, dishing out nine assists and grabbing seven steals in his 28 minutes of action.
Florida Memorial head coach
Ansar Al-Ameen called the game "fun".
"It was a lot of fun out there tonight," the second-year coach said. "As soon as the day started, I was excited, when the guys came in, they were loose and excited, then we came out with a lot of energy and we were sharing the ball…it was really fun to be a part of this tonight."
"This was great because it showed what this team was supposed to be when we put it together. Obviously we had some things that didn't go our way – injuries and eligibility – but it felt great to see it come together tonight. It also meant a lot to put on a performance like this on the night that we honored our seniors."
Al-Ameen and his staff honored the team's three seniors, Outar,
Isaiah Darrett, and
Jordan Martin.
Darrett finished with three points, six boards, two assists, and four steals while Outar received large ovations from the large throng of family members that came – clad in t-shirts with Outar's picture – in support of his final home game as a Lion, but Martin was forced to miss the game with a back injury.
It was the third consecutive game that Martin missed with the injury, and Al-Ameen said that it tough not to have Martin on the court Saturday.
"He's earned this night," Al-Ameen said of Martin. "He's a guy that put in the work and did everything that we ask of him to do. It hurt not being able to see him out there playing tonight."
Martin's absence was definitely more bitter than sweet for Al-Ameen, but he certainly had to enjoy his team avenging its January loss to the Wildcats (7-19, 3-15) and ending its season on a high note.
"I truly believe that if we had this whole team together for the entire season, we'd be getting ready to go play in the conference tournament," Al-Ameen said. "But one thing that we can say is that we won our last game of the season."
