LAKE WALES, Fla. – St. Thomas University Bobcat Basketball team (6-9, 5-2 TSC) fell against the #21 Warner University Royals (12-6, 6-1 TSC) 79-72 in The Sun Conference Game of the Week on Saturday, January 5th from the Tucker Athletic Center.

Bobcat starters: Philip Saunders (G), Antoine Joe (G), Justin Brown (G), Kheron Millwood (F), Fotios Malelis (F)
Royals starters: Jaylan Shelton (G), Trae Graham (G), Bart Schild (F) Darryl Mercer Jr. (F), Jalen Williams (F)

St. Thomas Key Points

• St. Thomas controlled the first half from the opening tip, as the Bobcats began the game on an 11-4 run over the first five minutes of the game over the 21^st ranked Royals following a Kheron Millwood bucket.
• Philip Saunders made his first, of a team-high, five three-pointers moments later to put STU up 14-6.
• The Bobcat lead was cut to just four with 11-minutes remaining in the half, before Antoine Joe and Saunders each made back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead to ten at 22-12.
• Daejour Adderley converted an "and-one" attempt at the free throw line to extend the STU lead to 28-16 with seven minutes left.
• Warner closed the half on a 9-3 run, to head into the halftime break with the Bobcats leading the Royals, 40-36.
• Following the break, Saunders drained another three-point bucket to give STU another nine-point advantage, which gave STU their largest lead of the second half, at 49-40.
• St. Thomas could not capitalize on the momentum and allowed #21 Warner to claim their first lead of the Sun Conference Game of the Week, 52-51, with under nine minutes remaining.
• The teams battled back-and-forth, as they forced five ties as the game came into the final two minutes at 70-70.
• Justin Brown knocked in two of his team-leading 14 free throws to give STU a 72-70 lead with under two minutes remaining in the game.
• #21 Warner rallied for a 9-0 run over the final 1:35 seconds of the game to defeat the Bobcats in the Sun Conference Game of the Week, 79-72.

Box Score Notables

• The Sun Conference Game of the Week lived up to its billing, as the #21 Royals and Bobcats combined for seven ties and nine lead changes.
• Saunders tied his season-high for points in a game with 15 (@ Voorhees, 11/10/18 and 12/6/18 vs Keiser) and also his season-high for three-pointers in a game with five (@ Voorhees)

Bobcat Ballers
Justin Brown: 24 points, five rebounds, 14-14 FTA
Philip Saunders: 15 points, 5-8 3PA, four assists

Upcoming
St. Thomas will travel to Lakeland to take on the 8^th ranked Southeastern University Fire on Thursday, January 10^th with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.