MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – 10th ranked St. Thomas (19-6, 12-2) defeated Keiser (18-7, 12-3 TSC) 79-76 in a thriller Saturday evening at the Fernandez Family Center.

With the win, St. Thomas took sole possession of first place in The Sun Conference standings.  It marked the 10th win in the last 11 contests for the Bobcats while snapping an 11-game winning streak for Keiser.  The win for the Bobcats also evened the season series between the two teams as KU topped STU earlier this season in West Palm Beach.

Trailing 76-73 with 45 seconds to play, the Bobcats won the game on the free throw line sinking six straight free throws down the stretch to finish the game on a 6-0 run.  Raheem Bowman hit two free throws to cut the Keiser lead to one point.  Following a missed free throw by the Seahawks, Darwin Trotman was fouled and made both his free throws to give the Bobcats a 77-76 lead. 

Following a defensive stop with 11 seconds left, Trotman pulled down a defensive rebound then handed the ball to Timothy Sada who was sent to the line.  Sada sank both his free throws to give STU a three-point lead.  Keiser attempted a three-pointer to tie the game as time expired, but the shot missed giving St. Thomas the critical win in both the Sun Conference and national picture.

Bowman recorded his 13th double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.  Sada and Trotman each scored 16 points.  Sada's sank four three pointers to go along with his two clutch free throws.  Trotman was very productive on the free throw line all night, going 6-of-7 from the charity stripe including his two free throws that gave STU the lead late.

A high quality game throughout, STU shot 51% from the field while KU shot 53%.  St. Thomas won the turnover battle as the Seahawks committed 13 turnovers compared to just eight turnovers for the Bobcats.  

STU ran out to a double-digit lead in the first half, hitting five three-pointers in the opening period including three from Sada.  Sada finished the first half with a team-high 11 points while Bowman scored 10 in the first to propel the Bobcats to a 48-36 lead at intermission.

Keiser came back however in the second half, taking the lead 57-56 with 11:36 to play.  The lead went back and forth and the two teams found themselves tied again at 65-65 with 6:25 to play.  Sada hit a long-range three-pointer to give the Bobcats a 68-65 lead, but KU would not go away tying the game at 73-73 then taking a 76-73 lead with one minute remaining.

STU however prevailed with clutch play in the final minute of regulation putting the Bobcats in the driver's seat for the top spot in conference play with four regular season games remaining.

St. Thomas returns to action on Thursday with a road game at conference foe Warner.