image via David Badia
Courtesy of Habtom Keleta – Assistant Athletics Director for Communications, Florida Memorial University
With three seconds remaining in the game, and the score tied 65-65, Florida Memorial University senior forward
Latavious Mitchell calmly scored the game-winning lay-up as No. 20 FMU defeated their rivals St. Thomas 67-65 in the 2024-25 SUN Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinal round.
The win eliminates the six seed Bobcats from the tournament while the Lions advance to the semifinals to take on the number two seed in the tournament, Ave Maria, on Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. on the campus of Keiser University in West Palm Beach, Fla.
This is the second-straight year that FMU knocked out their crosstown rival in the SUN Conference Tournament.
The three seed FMU trailed 39-35 at the break before clamping down on the defensive end, holding St. Thomas to just 26 second-half points.
Senior center
Mohamad Diallo finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field to go along with six boards, and one assist while Mitchell finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.
FMU’s back court stayed consistent, with junior sharpshooter
Calvin Payton scoring 11 points, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc while teammate
Jason Danso also added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds in the victory.
Since his arrival to Miami Gardens, FMU head coach
Delano Thomas is now 5-1 against FMU’s crosstown rival St.Thomas, including two elimination victories in back-to-back seasons.
