MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (December 1, 2020) – Using just eight players, the Florida National Conquistadors (2-7) fell to the St. Thomas Bobcats (3-2), 95-86, despite four student-athletes scoring in double figures.
Senior Jose Benitez led all Conquistadors with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, grabbed five rebounds and was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line versus the Bobcats. Junior Jeffrey Hernandez added 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor. He also dished out five assists and recorded three steals in 40 minutes of action.
Senior Kenneth Santos registered his second double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing a team-high 10 boards, including four on the offensive glass. Junior Pride George rounded out the leading scorers with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
During the first half, FNU jumped out to a seven-point lead, 44-37, shooting 56.3 percent from the floor (18-of-32) while holding STU to just 37.8 percent shooting from the field (14-of-37).
The Conquistadors maintained their hot shooting the second half however a 10-0 run early in the stanza pulled the Bobcats back into the contest. Both teams battled back-and-forth. Santos gave FNU a 75-74 led with 7:24 left in the contest. But STU responded with a layup by Quinterious Jones at the 6:56 mark as the Bobcats regained the lead and never looked back.
FNU ended the night 55.4 percent from the floor (36-of-55) and was 9-of-24 from 3-point range (37.5 percent). STU made 38-of-75 shots from the floor (38-of-75) and converted 27.3 percent of its shots from downtown (6-of-22). The Bobcats held a 4-2 24 advantage in rebounding in game that saw 10 lead changes.
The Conquistadors will next travel to Boca Raton, Florida, to take on Florida Atlantic on Thursday, December 3. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
