Score: Keiser 69, Johnson & Wales 52
Records: Keiser (14-12, 10-6 TSC), Johnson & Wales (2-21, 2-14 TSC)
Location: Student Life Center, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Fisher (G), Perkins (G), Orlic (F), Soto (F) Matic (F)
Johnson & Wales Starters: Joseph (G), Adams (G), Martin (G), Vermylen (F), Stephens (F)

Keiser Highlights

• The Seahawk men participated in Coaches vs. Cancer, and along with the women's team, honored former men's basketball coach Rollie Massimino pre-game along with current Seahawk staff member, Suzi McCreery.
• Marko Orlic was the Seahawks leader in points (15), rebounds (16) and assists (tying Andrija Matic with 4). Orlic's 16 rebounds set a new career-high, and all of them came on the defensive glass. He also sunk three triples.
• Matic scored all 13 of his points in the second half, and also snagged nine rebounds while dishing out four assists.
• Jermar Perkins was one of the five Seahawks in double-figure scoring with 12 points, and he was pesky defensively with three steals.
• Aaron Gedeon and Matt Mckewin both provided great contributions off the Keiser bench, as Gedeon finished with 11 points and seven rebounds while Mckewin chipped in with a season-high ten points.

 
Turning Point
Keiser had a two-possession lead at 13-7 just over halfway through the opening half, and that is where the Seahawks began an 11-0 run to go in front 24-7 with 5:42 on the clock. All of the damage during that run was done inside the paint, as KU set the tone in the game early.
 
How it Happened

• The first eight points of the contest belonged to the Seahawks, as Orlic hit a three, followed by a long ball from Perkins, and proceeded by a Javen Soto bucket in the paint.
• Keiser held JWU scoreless all the way until 14:29 was on the clock, as a Wildcat three found its mark to make it 8-3.
• Keiser responded in short order however with a Mckewin three, and the Seahawks were able to keep in front by at least two possessions until the score was 13-7 with 8:42 to play in the half.
• That is when Keiser began what became a spurt of 11 unanswered points, beginning with a tough finish in the paint from Mckewin and concluding with five straight points, including a thunderous dunk and the foul, from Gedeon to make it 24-7 with 5:42 remaining until the intermission.
• The Wildcats slowly began to whittle into the Keiser lead, and appeared to be headed into the halftime break within single digits at 29-20. Mckewin however banked in a deep three at the horn with a hand in his face to send the Seahawks into the break in front 32-20.
• The opening minutes of the second half saw the pace of play begin to quicken a bit, but the Seahawks remained in firm control and built the lead out to 39-23 after a basket and the foul from Matic with 15:21 to play,
• The Wildcats produced five of the next seven points to draw to within 13 points at 41-28. Keiser's response however was seven consecutive points to build the largest lead of the game, 47-28 after another Soto finish in the paint.
• The Wildcats were able to get to within ten points with 7:33 still to play on the strength of a 14-5 run that made the score 52-42. JWU eventually got the deficit down to eight points on two separate occasions, the final one at 58-50 with 4:26 on the clock.
• After a few breaks in the action, Keiser seized firm control and sealed the victory with a 9-0 run to put the lead right back to 17 points, 67-50 with just 1:05 to play. Orlic produced five straight points to start the run with two silky jumpers from the top of the key.
• The Wildcats found one more basket against the stingy Keiser defense, but it was too little, too late as the Seahawks went on for the 69-52 victory to sweep the season series.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Keiser's bench outproduced its counterpart from Johnson & Wales, 21-12.
• The rebounding battle was won decisively by the hosts, 45-23. 34 of Keiser's rebounds came on the defensive end, as the Seahawks held Johnson & Wales to just 34.5 percent shooting and limited second chance opportunities.
• The Seahawks did most of their damage from the inside, scoring 36 points in the paint while holding Johnson & Wales to 20 points for that category.

 
Game Notes

• Keiser now leads the all-time series 25-2 with Johnson & Wales.
• Orlic grabbed a new career-high 16 rebounds, all of which came on the defensive end.
• Mckewin's ten points were a new season-high.
• Keiser sits in a tie for fourth place in the Sun Conference standings with two games left to play.

 
Coach's Corner
"We had number of different guys step up to the challenge when a new opportunity presented itself for them," said Head Coach Bob Starkman. "Mckewin played really well in the first half especially, as did Aaron (Gedeon) off the bench. Orlic really cleaned the defensive glass for us, which was huge. I was pleased with how we pushed it back to 17 points late after JWU brought it down to eight points. I believe that we have come a long way throughout the season, and there are always further opportunities to improve moving forward."
 
 
Ties: 0
Lead Changes: 0
Largest Lead: Keiser (19), Johnson & Wales (N/A)
 
Team Leaders
Keiser
Points: Orlic (15)
Rebounds: Orlic (16)
Assists: Matic/Orlic (4)
 
Johnson & Wales
Points: Joseph (19)
Rebounds: Adams (5)
Assists: Adams (5)
 
Up Next
Just two more games remain in the Sun Conference regular season, and up ahead for the Seahawks is a road trip to face No. 16 Warner on Thursday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Lake Wales, Florida. The Royals were 80-73 victors in West Palm Beach on January 12.