MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | The quest to defend the Sun Conference title started off in favor of the Lions as Florida Memorial dismantled the Virgin Islands 103-71 in the season opener at the FMU Wellness Center. A total of five Lions finished in double-figures, with Cam'Ron Wilson on top of the list with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, burying three 3-pointers and grabbing six boards with one block and one steal.
FMU (1-0) took a 42-27 lead into the break and scored 61 points in the latter half, suffocating its opponent with various defensive presses, forcing 29 turnovers for the Buccaneers. As a team, FMU put things out of reach by drilling a total of 17 three-pointers in the contest.
Christian Taylor finished with 13 points and hit 4-of-6 from the charity stripe to go along with three boards, two assists and one steal while teammate Miles Jordan-Smartt was simply on fire, missing one shot all night. He finished 4-of-5 from the field, 1-for-1 from downtown and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
As a team the Lions shot 47 percent from the field (36-for-77), 39 percent from three-point land (17-of-44) and 70 percent (14-of-20) from the charity stripe. The Lions also won the rebound battle 44-37 over the Buccaneers.
Fellow Lions Tariq Humes and
Anfernee King both added 12 points apiece for Florida Memorial, who opens the season with back-to-back contests in as many nights.
The Lions return to action on Friday, October 28 as they face Carlow University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the FMU Wellness Center.
