MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – After trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, Florida Memorial University not only fought its way back but even took a one-point lead – three different times – in the final two minutes before its rally ran out of gas and the Lions fell 76-72 to neighborhood rival St. Thomas University Saturday in the FMU Wellness Center.
FMU's rally enthralled the near-capacity crowd on hand thanks to the school's homecoming celebration, as the Lions took a 66-65 lead with 3:39 left to play after senior
Jordan Martin sank a pair of free throws.
The teams then traded one-point leads over the next two minutes. St. Thomas University took a 71-70 lead with 1:38 left in the game – a lead that the Bobcats would never relinquish as Florida Memorial's next three possessions consisted of a missed layup and a pair of turnovers, while St. Thomas made 5-of-6 free throws in that span to cement their win.
Martin led the Lions (7-16, 4-10 Sun Conference) with 21 points off the bench. The Atlanta, Georgia native knocked down six three-pointers – five of which came in the second half as the Lions made their rally.
Quvondo Johnson was a rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with nine boards to go along with his 18 points; while
Kaleb Darrett finished with 12 points but turned the ball over a team-high six times. It didn't help the Lions, who will host College of Coastal Georgia this Thursday (Feb. 13), that 7-foot junior center
Mubashar Ali finished with the same number of turnovers (4) as he did points in 27 minutes of action.
Florida Memorial dug its hole by committing 25 turnovers Saturday, as the Bobcats (16-5, 9-5) still left the door open for the Lions to roar back before staving them off.
