Sun Conference Championship
Score: Keiser 72, St. Thomas 71
Records: Keiser (20-9), St. Thomas (14-11)
Location: Turner Center, Lake Wales, Fla.

Trailing 71-70, CoreVon Lott drove down the middle of the lane and bounced home a floater with one tick left on the clock, lifting Keiser to the 72-71 victory over St. Thomas in the Sun Conference Tournament Championship. 

The title marks the third in program history and is the Seahawks first since 2014, which also came against St. Thomas. Keiser will now receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.

Lott was named the Tournament MVP and Antwan Claxton earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.




Keiser 36, St. Thomas 32

•  After the two sides split the opening 14 points with three ties, Keiser used back-to-back baskets to take their first lead of the night, 11-7, at the 14:33 media stoppage.
• Claxton gave the Seahawks their largest lead of the half, 19-14, with a wing three-pointer as 9:56 showed on the clock.
• The Bobcats outscored Keiser 18-9 over the next 7:45, jumping in front with their largest lead of the half, 32-28.
• The Seahawks responded with an 8-0 run, that featured back-to-back and-ones by Quinton Glaspie, to close out the half, leading 36-32 at the break.

Keiser 72, St. Thomas 71

• With Keiser leading 38-36, a technical foul was issued to the St. Thomas head coach, sparking a 9-4 stretch, giving the Seahawks their largest lead of the game, 47-40, at the 16:54 mark.
• Darius Bryant started the surge with a pair of free throws and capped it with a wing three.
• St. Thomas answered with a 9-2 run to even the score at 49-49 with 13:46 to go in regulation.
• Marko Radulovic stopped the bleeding briefly with a layup, but the Bobcats scored the next six points to take a 55-51 lead as 12:44 remained.
• A Glaspie basket followed by a pair of Bryant free throws knotted the score at 55-55 as 10:57 showed on the clock.
• The Bobcats then took their largest lead of the game, 61-55, following a 6-0 run at the 8:55 mark.
• Keiser responded with nine of the next 11 points, capped off by a pair of Claxton free throws, jumping back in front 64-63 with 4:35 left in the game.
• The next 3:17 featured four lead changes and two ties as the score was locked at 70-70 with 50 ticks remaining in the contest.
• After Keiser failed to score, St. Thomas drew a foul with 12 seconds remaining but only came away with a split at the line to make it 71-70.
• Out of a KU timeout, the Seahawks pushed the ball up the court and Lott drove down the middle and bounced in a floater off the back iron to lift the Seahawks to victory, 72-71. 

• 2: Claxton tied with Glaspie for a game-best 10 rebounds and added 10 points for his second double-double of the year.
• 3: With the win, Keiser secured their third TSC Tournament Championship in program history.
• 4: Four Seahawks finished with double figures, led by Glapie with 18.
• 4: Lott dished out a team-high four assists.
• 11: Keiser dominated on the boards as they outrebounded the Bobcats 36-25.
• 18/10: Glaspie led the way for the Seahawks with his third double-double of the year, finishing with 18 points and 10 boards.
• 54.9: Keiser shot an impressive 54.9 percent from the field in the win.

Keiser

• Points: Glaspie (18)
• Rebounds: Claxton/Glaspie (10)
• Assists: Lott (4)

 
St. Thomas

• Points: Russell (20)
• Rebounds: Russell (7)
• Assists: Whitaker (5)

Keiser earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament and will find out who and where they are playing during the bracket reveal show on Thursday, March 4, at 8 p.m. The opening round of the NAIA National Tournament is set for March 12-13.