MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – St. Thomas University Men's Basketball team (1-3, 1-0 TSC) defeated Florida Memorial University (1-4, 0-1 TSC) 84-73 on the road in the first "Battle of Miami Gardens" on Saturday evening.

The win, coming against Head Coach Adrian White's alma-mater, marks the first of the Coach White-era at St. Thomas University.

In the first half, the Bobcats were quickly able to open an early five-point lead over the Lions following a Daejour Adderley three-point bucket. FMU ran off a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead over STU following a fast break dunk. St. Thomas responded with four points of their own to get the advantage over Florida Memorial just two minutes later as Justin Brown recorded a lay-up to put the score at 17-16. The Bobcats maintained pressure on FMU on both sides of the floor to once again rattle off an extended run to open the game up, going on a 10-0 run in just 1:15 to open a 12-point advantage at 34-22 following Aaron Dutcher free throw buckets. The 12-point advantage was the largest STU was able to build over the Lions as Florida Memorial cut the lead to just four-points with under ten minutes to go in the half, at 38-34. As the half wound down, FMU hit two consecutive three-point attempts to tie the game at 42-42 at the half.

Following the halftime break, the game remained a back-and-forth affair, as the Bobcats and Lions traded buckets. St. Thomas reclaimed the lead at 51-50 following two Kheron Millwood free throws just under the 15-minute mark. Florida Memorial was able to put the Bobcats down by five, following a three-point bucket of their own. St. Thomas went up for good with just under eight minutes to go as Brown went coast-to-coast, following a steal and slammed in a dunk to put STU up 62-61. Millwood's efforts on the glass helped seal the victory for the Bobcats as his two offensive rebounds were rewarded with free throws that built the STU lead to six at 74-68, with four minutes to go. Phillip Saunders put the finishing touches on the game, recording all four of his points on free throw attempts with under two minutes to go to clinch the first victory of the season at 84-73.

Bobcat Leaders
Aaron Dutcher: 22 points and seven rebounds
Justin Brown: 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists
Antoine Joe: 18 points, 5-10 3PA
Kheron Millwood: 11 points and eight rebounds

Up next, St. Thomas University returns home to face-off against Voorhees College (S.C) on Friday, November 23^rd at 7 p.m. This game will be the conclusion of the home-and-home series between the Bobcats and Tigers, as STU lost to VC 79-89 on the road on November 10^th.