MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (March 6, 2023)- The St. Thomas University (STU) Men's Basketball team opens the NAIA National Tournament tomorrow against The Masters University from California. The Bobcats enter the Naismith Quadrant as the three seed in the Lakeland, Fla. bracket, The Masters being the second seed.
 
The Bobcats ended as the Sun Conference runner ups, coming up just short to Southeastern University. In the semifinal game against Thomas University, STU had arguably the best performance of the season. As a team the Bobcats made 19 three's with five players scoring double digits. Justyn Rogers had a double-double in that one, and is one of the backbones of this team. The two top scorers for STU Dalon Dean, and Milton Matthews both had great performances. Matthews had 26 and Dean had 18.
 
Against Southeastern the Bobcats just seemed to be a step behind. When your best players have a good game, your team usually has a good game. Dalon Dean was held to just 6 points, with Milton Matthews being the only double digit scorer with 17. If the Bobcats want to find a way to make a run in the National Tournament, the best players have to be the best players.
 
The Mustangs from The Masters University went 20-8 on the season and 13-8 in their respective conference. They came up just short in their semifinal matchup to Hope International University. Some players to look out for are Kaleb Lowery, Christian Sweazie, and Jordan Caruso. Lowery is the Mustang scoring leader with 403 points this season. Sweazie is a guy that can get it done on both sides of the floor, and is the second leading scorer for the Mustangs. And finally Caruso averages 14.8 points a game.
 
The other matchup in our bracket is the number one seeded Florida College going up against the fourth seed Life University. Florida College went 26-5 in 2023, and were 13-1 in their conference, coming up just short in their conference championship. Life University on the other end went 19-10 on the season, and were 11-9 in their respective conference.