TAMPA, Fla. – One week into the second half of the 2019-20 conference season, the races for spots in the six-team fields in both the men's and women's post-season basketball tournaments in The Sun Conference are beginning to heat up. 
 
The Sun Conference "Game(s) of the Week" on this weekend will be played in the southern half of the state of Florida where the sporting world (and especially Sun members that call Miami Gardens their homes – Florida Memorial and St. Thomas) is gearing up for the NFL's "Game of the Year" at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
 
The featured women's "Game of the Week" is slated for Thursday evening (6 p.m. tipoff) when fourth-place Ave Maria (7-4 in league play) visits Florida Memorial (5-6 in The Sun).  Ave Maria has a two-game cushion over the final playoff spot which is currently shared by Florida Memorial and St. Thomas. The Gyrenes snapped a three-game losing streak last Saturday with a 73-59 home win over Thomas. Florida Memorial played its way back into the playoff picture with consecutive wins over Keiser and Warner before dropping a tough, 63-61 verdict at home to Webber International on Saturday. Ave Maria won the first meeting between the Gyrenes and the Lions by a 77-55 score at AMU on Nov. 16.
 
The men's featured game on Saturday (4 p.m. tipoff) is a rematch of an 82-80 thriller won by Keiser in West Palm Beach back on Jan. 4. Keiser, currently ranked No. 20 in the most recent NAIA Division II Coaches Poll, stands 9-1 in conference play and just a half-game behind first-place Southeastern (10-1) entering Thursday night's action. Warner, the defending Sun regular-season champion and the preseason pick in the coaches' poll to win the league title this year, has struggled out of the gate in conference play and currently stands 4-7 in the league (15-8 overall). If the playoffs started today, the Royals would be in as the No. 6 team but three other schools lurk just one game behind them in the Sun standings.
 
Fans can follow the women's "Game of the Week" via stream or live stats at Florida Memorial's stream athttps://portal.stretchinternet.com/fmulions/index.htm. The men's "Game of the Week" on Saturday can be followed via stream or live stats at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/warner/.