MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Chuckie Becton scored 16 points and James Vice added 13 to lead St. Thomas (13-9, 8-5 The Sun Conference) to a 56-52 win over Ave Maria Saturday afternoon at the Fernandez Family Center.  With the win, the Bobcats have won four straight and now rank third in The Sun Conference standings with five regular season games to play.
 
In addition to Becton and Vice, Michael Walker also scored in double digits with 10 points.  Lorel Beckford and Vice each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Bobcats on the glass.
 
Ave Maria led the entire opening period and for much of the second.  The Bobcats trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, then battled back to cut the deficit to 28-26 at intermission. 
 
A three-pointer by Vice gave STU its first lead of the game 34-32 with 16:35 to play.  Beckford followed with a dunk and Walker hit a jumper to cap a 9-0 run and give the Bobcats a 38-32 lead.  AMU then battled back with a 6-0 run to tie the game 38-38 with 13:30 to play.
 
The game remained close and the score was tied at 49-49 with 2:19 to play.  Seven seconds later,   Tim Sada hit a three-pointer to  give the Bobcats the lead for good.  Free throws by Walker and Mikon Hewitt iced the game.
 
St. Thomas returns to action with a road game vs. Northwood on Thursday at 7 p.m. in West Palm Beach.  
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