MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - St. Thomas (1-0) needed a second half jolt to slay the Florida National Conquistadors (1-2) by the score of 92-61.  Michael Walker's 42 points, 33 of which came after intermission, allowed the Bobcats to run away with the game in the second half.  Walker (Jr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) broke the St. Thomas records for three point makes and attempts with eight and 12, respectively.

The Conquistadors began the first half of play with great fervor.  They scored the game's first seven points and led by as many as 11.  A Bobcat offense that looked frustrated and out of sorts for much of the first half began to show signs of fight with under nine minutes to go.  Down 26-15, St. Thomas would outscore Florida National 18-6 to enter halftime with a 33-32 lead.  Walker scored seven of his nine first half points during the late surge.

Things would begin to come apart for the Conquistadors in the second as the Bobcats became more comfortable with their offensive sets, the pace of the game, and the defensive pressure.  Up 37-36, they allowed their defense to fuel their offense and their ball movement to generate good looks.  Tim Sada (So., Ocala, Fla.) worked his way open for a three pointer and followed that up with a fastbreak dunk off a turnover he created.  Walker then hit a three pointer and a jumper to increase the lead to 47-38.  A turnover by Quantavis Hall led to an Armand Shoon (Jr., Miami, Fla.) three-point basket, and suddenly the Bobcats had their largest lead at 12.

The lead eventually grew to 21 with 3:59 remaining.  It was at this moment that Walker put on an electric performance that STU fans will remember for eternity.  Walker's next five three-point attempts touched nothing but net.  It was an astonishing performance reminiscent of those put on by the NBA's Stephen Curry.  The crowd roared with every crossover Walker made and every shot that dropped.  No plays were called for Walker and no doubles were sent by the Conquistadors.  It was straight isolation by Walker, who would dribble out the shot clock and launch a deep three pointer with just a few seconds remaining.  This sequence occurred over and over until 19 seconds remained, when Walker finally missed one of his heat-check attempts from deep.  

By the time the game clock hit zeros, the Bobcats had outscored the Conquistadors 59-29 in the second half to change the complexion of the match into a route.

Not only did Walker put up big numbers, he scored his 42 points off an efficient 15-23 from the field.  He was a perfect 4-4 from the line.  The previous record holders for three-point makes were Darryl Merthie (1987) and Kevin Hincapie (2014), each with seven.  Merthie also held the record for three-point attempts with 11.  Walker's 8-12 performance on the evening pushed both those gentleman to second place in the STU record books.

Walker's standout performance were complimented by the timely buckets of an improving supporting cast.  Raheem Bowman (Fr., Chester, Penn.) had an impressive debut, shooting 6-8 from the field for 12 points and hauling in nine rebounds.  Shoon, a transfer from Florida Gulfcoast, came off the bench and provided an immediate spark.  He was 4-8 from the field and 3-4 from behind the arc.  James Vice (Sr., Schenectady, N.Y.) did a good job of setting up the Bobcat offense and contributed nine points of his own.  His efforts on the defensive end yielded him two steals, but, most noticeably, frustrated the Conquistadors' Hall.  Sada gave the Bobcats an impactful seven points off the bench.  His hustle and three-point shooting always led to good results for the Bobcats.

St. Thomas gets a little bit of a reprieve before they head up to Fort Lauderdale to take on NCAA DII opponent Nova Southeastern.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 P.M. E.T. on Monday, November 16th.  The game will be played at the Don Taft University Center on Nova's campus.