TAMPA, Fla. (January 21, 2020) - As the Sun Conference schedule begins the second half of the season and the tournament picture comes into focus, St. Thomas continues to battle for positioning. The Bobcats (12-4, 5-4 TSC), currently sitting in fourth place, take on the Warriors of Webber International (11-9, 4-5 TSC) on Thursday, January 23, in Babson Park, Fla. 

The two clubs met last on November 23, with WIU taking a hard-fought road win over STU, 79-72, in the third Sun Conference game of the season from the Fernandez Family Center. Following the first five minutes of play, St. Thomas lead 18-4 over the Warriors, for the largest Bobcat lead of the game. At the halftime break, the Sun Conference rivals were tied, 38-38. The rivals battled back-and-forth in the second half, with the Warriors building a six-point advantage, midway through the second half. Jahsim Floyd reclaimed the Bobcats lead, notching two-points on a lay-up, 58-57. Ultimately, St. Thomas dropped their second Sun Conference game of the young season, falling to 2-2.

Head Coach, D.P. Harris, in his first season as the Bobcats bench boss, has STU with more wins in the 2019-20 season than last season. On the match-up with Webber International, Harris said, "WIU beat us last time; however, this week of practice has shown me that our guys are serious about redeeming the loss. Our record [12-4] proves that we have a serious, professional approach to game day. It is refreshing to see our guys striving to get better on a game-by-game basis, as a veteran coach, the willingness to get better and compete is how I know everything is coming together."

The early-season loss kick-started the Bobcats season, as STU recorded eight consecutive wins (11/27 - 1/9), which matched the longest winning streak in two seasons for St. Thomas. Justin Brown, the leading scorer for STU, only recorded ten points in the defeat, his lowest total of the season. Brown has registered at least 20-points in 9-of-12 game since, including a 35-point outburst against Huntington (IN.) en route to Sun Conference Player of the Work honors. Since the winning streak ended against the College of Coastal Georgia, the Bobcats are 2-2 in their last four games and look to get back into the Sun Conference regular-season title race in the second half of the season. 

The Sun Conference Game of the Week, between St. Thomas and Webber International, features three top-seven scorers in the conference in Brown (2nd, 23.38), Tommie Luke (4th, 20.75) and Ahmad Gilbert (7th, 16.6). Luke scored a game-high 26-points in the early season match-up, while Gilbert scored a team-high 24-points for St. Thomas. 

STU currently is ranked first in NAIA Division II in offensive rebounds-per-game (18.1), third in rebounds-per-game (46.1), and 11th in blocks-per-game (4.1). Floyd sits fourth in the country in blocks-per-game (2.7), fifth in offensive rebounds-per-game (3.73), and sixth in blocks (41), while Brown is sixth in points-per-game (23.3).

The highlights of the St. Thomas season have been two road upset wins over ranked Sun Conference opponents, No. 21 Warner (11/21/19), and No. 14 Ave Maria (1/4/20).

The Sun Conference, as a whole, is as deep as it has been in recent years, with eight teams vying for six spots in the conference tournament. Harris added, "it is an exciting time in the Sun Conference, as the second half of the schedule getting started, allowing our staff to have a better understanding of tendencies, personnel usage, and style of opponents. As one of the new coaches in the conference, I tip my hat to Kevin Lubbers (Southeastern) and Tae Norward (Keiser) for their work on the season."

Sun Conference Standings

1. No. 14 Keiser (16-3, 8-1 TSC)
2. No. 20 Southeastern (15-5, 8-1 TSC)
3. RV Ave Maria (12-7, 6-3 TSC)
4. St. Thomas (12-4, 5-4 TSC)
5. Warner (15-6, 4-5 TSC)
6. Webber International (11-9, 4-5 TSC)

Outside looking in
Coastal Georgia (10-11, 3-6 TSC)
Thomas (6-11, 3-6 TSC)
Johnson & Wales (6-11, 2-7 TSC)
Florida Memorial (5-14, 2-9 TSC)

The Sun Conference Game of the Week between St. Thomas and Webber International tip-off at 7:30 p.m. from Babson Park on Thursday, January 23.

-STU-