NORTH MIAMI, Fla. ( Feb. 15, 2023) – Florida National University’s men’s basketball team once again falls prey to an aggressive University of Fort Lauderdale team, falling 92-43 Wednesday. The Conquistadors (4-14) entered the Skinner Classic hosted by UFTL fresh off a loss to the Ave Maria Gyrenes on Feb. 2 and once again failed to hit their stride versus the Eagles (16-12).
In the first half, FNU struggled to hang points on the board, trailing 55-14 at the break. FNU shooting left much to be desired going just four of 16 from the floor. The Eagles outrebounded FNU 20-17 and tallied 18 assists in the period to FNU’s three. Marcos Molina, Girardi Cubillian and Jesus Rivas each recorded three rebounds a piece while Cubillian led the way with nine points heading into halftime.
FNU made 11 of 26 shots for a 42.3% performance down the stretch of the contest. FNU’s 0-1 three point shooting in the first half improved astronomically in the second, as FNU nailed seven of 15 shot attempts from long range. Jovan Debrito’s second half was a shooting clinic as he drained four three-pointers for 12 points in the period after picking up just two in the first.
Debrito was not the only Conquistador feeling it from downtown, as Matthew Robinson scored on all three of his shot attempts from behind their arc ending the game with a team-high 16 points. Despite better overall performances on offense, the Eagles still shot in 58.6% (17-29) for the second half. UFTL’s defense was relentless, scooping up eight steals in the second and forcing 10 FNU turnovers with five Eagles ending the evening in double digits.
Cubillian and Debrito ended the game with 11 and 14 points, respectively, while Rivas had a team-high nine rebounds.
Up Next: Men’s basketball’s final regular season game is set for Friday at 4 p.m. versus the University of the Virgin Islands.
