LAKELAND, Fla. (February 29, 2020) - Just as the season began, almost poetically, the final game of the Sun Conference season will be between the St. Thomas Bobcats and the Southeastern Fire for the Sun Conference Tournament Championship. 

(RV) St.  Thomas has advanced to play in the Sun Conference Tournament Championship, following a win over No. 21 Keiser University on Friday night. Tonight's match-up against the top-seeded, #17 Southeastern University Fire marks the Bobcat's first appearance in the Sun Conference Tournament Championship since the 2012-13 season. 

Before the D.P.  Harris-era, STU had been four seasons without a Sun Conference Tournament win. In two games, Harris has led the Bobcats to two consecutive wins and on the cusp of clinching a spot in the NAIA DII National Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

St. Thomas upended the No. 21 Keiser Seahawks, for the second time in three games, defeating KU 84-77 in the Sun Conference Semifinals. The dynamic duo of Ahmad Gilbert and Justin Brown, both First-Team Sun Conference members, carried the Bobcats to the win. Both seniors scored at least 30-points, including a game-high, 32, from Brown.

STU is in the midst of their second-longest winning streak of the season, currently riding a seven-game streak, dating back to February 8. During the streak, Gilbert has averaged 19.6-ppg, including two 30-point performances. The outburst from Gilbert has given the Bobcats a fearsome duo and elevated the STU offense.

As great as the performances by Brown and Gilbert were, combined 62-points, the rest of the team recorded 22-points on 7-18 shooting, led by Quinterious Jones (7).

To claim the first Sun Conference tournament title in seven seasons, the Bobcats will need consistent contributions from a third performer on the offensive end. The last time these two teams matched up, on January 30, the Bobcats had four players score in double-digits. Nick Strawter scored 13 and Daejour Adderley added eleven of his own, as the Bobcats defeated the Fire, 80-63.

Inside the match-up
Southeastern captured the regular-season Sun Conference Championship, in large part, due to the efforts of First-Team members, Jeremy Oppenheimer and Freshman of the Year, Riley Minx.

Oppenheimer started all 30-games for the No. 17 Fire and led the team in points-per-game (15.7) and steals (44), while Minx nearly averaged a double-double, 14.0-ppg, and 7.7-rpg. 

Southeastern is led by Sun Conference Coach of the Year, Kevin Lubbers, who in his first season at the helm, has the Fire headed to Sioux Falls by virtue of being Sun Conference regular-season Champions. 

The Bobcats faced-off against the Fire to open up Sun Conference play on 11/16, as Southeastern earned the victory, 85-75. SEU had five players score in double-digits, while Brown and Gilbert combined to score 40-points for STU. At the Fernandez Family Center, the Bobcats flipped the script, forcing fourteen Fire turnovers and limiting Southeastern to 35% shooting from the field. 

Forty-minutes separates the Bobcats from a return trip to Sioux Falls to compete for the first NAIA National Championship in school history; there is reassurance and a calming presence from Coach Harris, as the Bobcats face-off against a familiar foe.

Bobcats. Fire. For the Sun Conference Championship.

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