Box Score
LAKE WALES, Fla. – Warner University made it a clean sweep over cross-county rival Southeastern University tonight (Dec. 8) as the men’s basketball team defeated the Fire 79-70, after the Warner women disposed of the Lady Fire earlier in the evening. The Royals improve their record to 5-2 for the season while the Fire now stands at 6-8 for the season.
The rivals played a tough first half, with the Royals taking a two-point lead, 32-30 in to the half. Senior duo Mirnes Islamovic’ and Derell Henderson paced the Royals offensive attack in the first half with nine points apiece. Adam Branch was not too far behind, scoring eight points in the half, with most of his offensive production coming from the free throw line, as he went 6-for-9 from the line.
In the second half, the Fire and Royals increased the intensity of the game, as the game went back-and-forth with four ties and two lead changes in the period. The Fire opened the half with a jump shot from Nathan Marshall to knot the game at 32 and the Royals responded with a shot from Ray Victor to reclaim the lead. The game continued to go back-and-forth with the Royals maintaining the lead for the majority of the period; however the Fire kept the game close. The Royals eventually pushed the lead to 10, 69-59 with 2:19 left in regulation, but the Fire gave a valiant effort, cutting the Royals lead to four with 24 seconds left on the clock. The Royals closed out the win as Henderson and David Westberry knocked down five consecutive free-throws to seal the victory for the Royals.
Henderson and Islamovic continued to lead the Royals scoring efforts in the second half, as they finished with 18 and 17 points respectively. Branch finished with 12 points, while Westberry scored eight second half points to finish with 10 points for the night. An unsung hero for the Royals tonight, was Dennis Bender , who led the game with eight rebounds to go along with six points. Bender grabbed seven second half boards, including four straight rebounds over a one-minute span in the period.
The Royals played spirited defense in the game making it difficult for the Fire to get off shots, Warner totaled 11 blocks in the game, with Islamovic leading the way with four and Henderson, Durell Sykes and Branch swatting two.
The Royals take a break from regular season action as they travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on NCAA-I Florida Atlantic University on Thursday, Dec. 10 in an exhibition game; tipoff is slated for a 7 p.m. start.