Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.- The NAIA National Game of the Week did not disappoint as the Royals came back to force overtime then jump all over the Fire to win 94-85 in a conference thriller. The Royals would not have the hottest start of their season and the Fire would take full advantage of that and use a late 12-2 run to go up ten points with 1:31 remaining in the first half. The Royals would ultimately go into halftime down nine points, 47-38. The Fire would ride first half momentum into the first 8 minutes of the second half as they sported an 18 point, 65-47 lead with 11:59 remaining in the game. The Royals looked to be in trouble at that point of the game, but that is when Warner gathered themselves and came out to play. Slowly, the Royals chipped away at the Fire lead and by the 5:35 mark of the second half, the Royals had the Fire sweating it out and wondering what happened to the cushion they had. With 1:32 left in thr game, Adam Giger hit a big three pointer to pull the Royals within two of the Fire. Southeastern would then hit a three of their own on the next possession to push their lead back to five. Giger then would come back down the court and hit another three pointer to put the Fire lead back to two points. The Fire would miss a three pointer and give the Royals a chance to tie or take the lead, but with 24 seconds left, Warren Hall missed on a mid range jumper and Southeastern came away with the rebound. The Royals were forced to foul and two free throws would seemingly put the game out of reach. However, the Fire were not able to convert on the first free throw and Nick Macon would come down the court and hit a baseline jumper to tie the game at 79. The Fire would miss an attempt to win the game at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. In OT, the Royals would dominate the Fire as they opened with a 7-0 run and would outscore the Fire 15-6 to come away with the 94-85 win. The Royals improve their record to 18-2 (7-2) on the season.
Even though he didn't have his best shooting game of his career, Warren Hall led all scorers with 33 points. Adam Giger added 19 points while Nick Macon dropped in 16 for the Royals. Next up Warner will travel down to West Palm Beach to take on Keiser University on January 26 at 7 pm.