NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (Jan. 17, 2019) – The Johnson & Wales (Fla.) men's basketball team (2-15, 2-8 TSC) earned its second-straight victory with a 66-61 win over the Thomas Night Hawks (9-9, 5-5 TSC) on Thursday night.
In a game that had 12 lead changes and saw the score tied four times, the Wildcats (trailing by six at halftime) hit three-straight treys to start the second half and take a 36-33 lead with 18:36 left in the game. It would be a lead that JWU would not relinquish, ending with the five-point win.
Freshman Dwayne Adams led all Wildcats with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 shooting from the free-throw line. The native of Miami scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half including his two made free throws which he converted with 12 seconds left in the game with JWU leading by just one, 62-61. Adams also dished out a game-high five assists and registered four steals. Junior Sidney Alcena joined Adams in scoring in double-figures, adding 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Junior Willem Vermylen notched seven points with five boards and a game-high three blocked shots. Freshman Tristan Stephens contributed eight points and collected seven rebounds for the Wildcats, while senior David Joachim also registered eight boards to lead JWU.
The Wildcats ended the game shooting 38.5 percent from the floor (20-of-52) but it was their 50.0 percent shooting in the second half (11-of-22) that proved to be the difference in the contest. JWU was solid from the 3-point arc, converting 39.4 percent (13-of-33) from long range. Thomas ended the contest shooting 24-of-62 from the floor (38.7 percent) and was just 4-of-22 from 3-point range (18.2 percent).
JWU will host the Coastal Georgia Mariners on Saturday, January 17. Game time is slated for 4:00 p.m.