Score: Keiser 69, #RV Ave Maria 56
Records: Keiser (12-11, 8-5 TSC), #RV Ave Maria (15-8, 8-5 TSC)
Location: Student Life Center, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Radulovic (G), Perkins (G), Orlic (F), Andrews (F), Matic (F)
Ave Maria Starters: Bates (G), Sullivan (G), Riccio(G), Watts (G), Brankov (C)

Keiser Highlights

• Andrija Matic was a catalyst offensively for Keiser and had a game-high 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting (2-of-3 from downtown) to go along with eight rebounds and a game-high six assists.
• Jermar Perkins manned the point guard position throughout the game on his way to 17 points and five rebounds.
• Marko Orlic complemented his nine points with six rebounds and four assists.
• CJ Fisher had a well-rounded stat line, going 3-of-3 from the floor for six points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Fisher's eight rebounds tied Matic for the team-high and was the junior's season high mark for that category.

 
Turning Point                                                                                
The game was a tight one midway through and Ave Maria scored the first five points of the second half to tie it up at 33-33, but then Matic caught fire from the floor for ten unanswered points as part of a 12-0 run for the Seahawks.
 
How it Happened

• Keiser raced out to a 16-2 lead by scoring the first seven points and then going on a 9-0 run after Ave Maria's first basket came at the 17:39 mark.
• The visitors were stuck on two points all the way until there was 11:37 on the clock in the first half, as the Seahawk defense picked up where it left off after an impressive performance against No. 13 Southeastern.
• Ave Maria netted five consecutive points to make it 16-7 Keiser and soon after brought the Gyrenes' deficit to seven points (18-11), but the Seahawks pushed it right back to 11 points after buckets from Matic and Fisher.
• Ave Maria responded with seven straight points to make it 22-18 Keiser with 5:55 showing, and brought it to within a single possession at 28-26 Keiser with 1:42 on the clock.
• The Seahawks were able to stem the momentum by scoring five of the final seven points of the opening half to go into halftime leading 33-28, fresh off a Matic three-pointer at the buzzer.
• Ave Maria tied the game for the first time at 33-33 out of the break, but then the Seahawks and Matic turned it up on both ends of the floor. The senior forward went on a 10-0 tear on his own with inside and outside shooting before a Perkins jumper capped the 12-0 run, as the Seahawks went in front 45-33 with 14:53 on the clock.
• Keiser kept Ave Maria from ever drawing to within single digits from that point forward, as the Seahawks executed effectively in all facets of the game.
• At the 13:02 mark, the completion of an old-fashioned three-point play for Ave Maria made it 48-38, but Javen Soto had a bucket in the paint on Keiser's ensuing possession to respond.
• The teams continued to trade barbs and Keiser held a lead anywhere from 11-15 points until the Gyrenes made it 59-49 with 6:31 remaining.
• The Seahawks began what turned out to be the final push it needed with a 6-0 run to build the largest lead of the game at 65-49 with 4:01 on the clock after a Perkins layup in the paint.
• The final 4:01 saw Keiser do what the Seahawks needed to secure the 69-56 victory, as the Seahawks staved off the desperate attempts of Ave Maria to hit outside shots from the perimeter.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Ave Maria was held to just 31.7 percent shooting from the floor on 20-of-63 shooting and 4-of-25 from beyond the arc (16 percent). Keiser meanwhile finished 27-of-56 from the field (48.2 percent), displaying a more potent inside-out attack.
• The Seahawks assisted on a remarkable 20 of the 27 baskets in the game. The 20 assists were the third highest total in a game for Keiser on the season.
• Keiser had 38 points come from inside the paint, a key factor in the 13-of-23 shooting performance in the second half.

 
Game Notes

• The game was featured as the Sun Conference Game of the Week.
• Keiser prevailed at Ave Maria by a final score of 79-72 on November 29, 2018, and a Seahawk win today extended the all-time series advantage for Keiser to 19-1 with ten consecutive wins over the Gyrenes.
• Keiser moved into a tie for third place in the Sun Conference standings with Ave Maria, and also hold the tiebreaker by way of the season sweep.
• The Keiser coaching staff wore sneakers along with their suits for the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative.

 
Coach's Corner
"We came on strong in the second half, similarly to the game against Southeastern," said Head Coach Bob Starkman. "Our bench was really invested in the game and provided energy and excitement, and we shot 56 percent in the second half by really pounding the ball inside. We finished the game well, keeping care of the ball with only 12 turnovers. Bryce Andrews played well, Fisher and Orlic too, and Matic came alive in the second half. It was a great team win for us with a lot of different contributors, and it was great to see them stay focused after the big win over Southeastern."


Ties: 1
Lead Changes: 0
Largest Lead: Keiser (16), Ave Maria (N/A)
 
Team Leaders
Keiser
Points: Matic (26)
Rebounds: Matic/Fisher (8)
Assists: Matic (6)
 
#RV Ave Maria
Points: Behrend (17)
Rebounds: Brankov (12)
Assists: Bates (5)
 
Up Next
Keiser will be at Florida Memorial on Thursday, January 31 for a game that is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. The Seahawks defeated Florida Memorial by a score of 74-63 on December 8, 2018 in West Palm Beach, Florida.