BABSON PARK, Fla. – The final game of a stretch of three games in three days for the Webber International University men’s basketball team saw the Warriors get back into the win column as Webber defeated Ecclesia College 76-42 on Saturday evening inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center.

It was also the final nonconference game of the season for Webber, which improved to 6-9 overall and will now begin a stretch of 15 straight conference games in 2021 to close out the regular season.

Kris Goettert led the Warriors with a career-high 24 points on great 10-for-13 shooting from the field and a 4-for-4 mark from the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds.

Next in scoring was Rasheem Etienne with 15 points as he went 7-for-8 from the free throw line while adding seven boards and six assists.

Terrance Lakes scored nine points and added four assists, and Eddie Davis had eight points, three assists and three steals. Last but not least, Marcus Massey and Deante Green both had five points.

In the first half, Webber led by as much as nine points at 21-12 on a layup by Lakes with nine minutes left before the intermission. Then at halftime, Webber led 31-26 after a jumper and two free throws by Etienne made a one-point lead for the Warriors a five-point margin.

In the second half, Webber went up by nine again (35-26) with four straight points by Goettert to open the period, and then the Warriors took their first double-digit lead of the night on a layup by Etienne to make it 44-33 with 13:24 remaining.

Etienne then hit a jumper less than a minute later to make it a 13-point game at 46-33, but a 8-0 run for Ecclesia (2-9 overall) over the next three and a half minutes made it only a four-point game at 46-41 with 10 minutes on the clock.

Over the next five minutes, the Warriors answered with a big run of their own, a 12-1 stretch featuring eight points by Goettert to lead it by 16 at 58-42.

Webber shot 62.96 percent (17-27) from the field in the second half and finished the game a strong 87.5 percent (14-16) from the free throw line after shooting 8-or-8 from the line from the first half and making each of its first 13 free throws of the game overall.

The Warriors also held the Royals to only 8.3 percent shooting (2-24) from the 3-point line, and took advantage of 20 Royal turnovers to outscore them 23-14 on points off turnovers.

“I am so proud of this team for battling through a tough week the way they did,” said Head Coach Gabriel Rutledge. “They continue to grow and overcome adversity. We are learning a lot of life lessons along the way, and that’s what I’m most excited about. Everyone who played tonight followed the game plan and gave all they had. My entire staff did a terrific job preparing the team, and I appreciate them very much. We now get a very much needed break to prepare ourselves for conference play. Go Warriors.”

This was the final game of 2020 for the Warriors, who now will not return to the court until after the New Year. The next game on Saturday, January 2, will also mark Webber’s return to Sun Conference action as the Warriors play at Keiser University at 4 p.m. in West Palm Beach, Florida. It will also be the beginning of a stretch of 15 straight conference games to close out the regular season for Webber.

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LAKELAND, Fla. – The Southeastern University men’s basketball team bounced back strong in The Furnace Friday evening with a resounding 90-47 victory over the Ecclesia College Royals.

SEU shot 50% (27-54) from the field, 46.7% (7-15) from three-point range, and 90.6% (29-32) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Fire held the Royals to 28.8% (15-52) from the field, including 24% (6-25) from behind the arc.

The Fire used a 17-2 run from 16:28 to 11:44 in the first half to open up the contest early 25-7 in their advantage. During that run, SEU kept EC scoreless for a span of 3:25.

Senior center Devon Ford got off to a solid start on both sides of the glass for Southeastern, dialing in nine points, recording seven rebounds, and swiping a pair of steals in the first half. Ford went on to score a career-high 17 and haul in 11 rebounds to record a double-double.

SEU was able to overcome 10 first-half turnovers by limiting Ecclesia to under 30% from the field (8-27), including 16.7% (2-12) from three-point land in the first half. The Fire took a 42-26 advantage into the half.

The Fire got to the free-throw line early and often in the second half, going 19-21 at the charity stripe on 13 second-half fouls. Freshman guard Deshaun Osborne was a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line in the second half, and 11-11 overall in the contest as he finished the contest with 16 points, which tied his career high.

Sophomore guard Reggie Mesidor also finished with 16 points, as well as five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Senior forward Karl Jeanty also posted a double-double for the Fire, scoring 10 and bringing in 10 boards. Senior forward Alaowei Talent-Fitzgerald scored 11 points coming off the bench to become the fifth SEU player to register double-digit scoring.

The Fire are back in action tomorrow afternoon inside The Furnace, as they host the Florida Memorial University Lions in a Sun Conference showdown. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

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