LAKE WALES, Fla. – Despite leading for the majority of the game the Warner Royals were upset on their home turf by the NAIA #14 Keiser Seahawks 81-76.
 
Warner jumped on the Seahawks out the gate and held an 8-point lead after 5 minutes of game play. 
 
Maxwell Benoit got hot early, starting the game 3-3 from the field and scoring 9 points in just 6 minutes of play.
 
The Royals controlled the ball well the entire half and even found themselves up by double-digits more than once in the half.
 
Bart Schild and Maxwell Benoit led the way for the Royals, combining for 27 of the Royals 41 points at the half.
 
Keiser battled back in the 1^st half and were able to narrow the gap to just 3 points, as the two teams headed halftime with a score of 41-38 in favor of Warner.
 
The second half was a back and forth battle but Warner managed to stay in the lead for the majority of the half.
 
With 1:32 left in the 2^nd half Keiser finally grabbed their first lead of the game 74-73.
 
20 seconds later the Royals grabbed the lead back from the Seahawks after Maxwell Benoit nailed 2 free throws.
 
With 17 seconds left in the game the Seahawks nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer that pushed them ahead of the Royals 79-76.
 
With 4 seconds left the Royals attempted to tie the game with a 3-point shot but were not able to sink the clutch shot and fell to the Seahawks by a score of 81-76.
 
Maxwell Benoit finished with a game-high 28 points with 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
Bart Schild added 15 points and 5 rebounds and Rod Boggan rounded out the Royals who scored in double-digits, scoring 11 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.