florida memorial university lions’ den inside the · 2020-03-01 · florida memorial will play...

FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY

Lions’ Den

INSIDE THE LIONS’ DEN FEBRUARY 2020 WWW.FMUATHLETICS.COM

INSIDE THE

Staff DirectoryATHLETIC ADMINISTRATION

Ernest T. Jones, Athletic DirectorChevonne Mansfield, Deputy Director of Athletics/SWAStrada Joseph, Associate AD, Corporate SponsorshipWilverto Tavarez, Asst. AD, ComplianceBrianne Blades, Assistant to the Athletic Director

SPORTS INFORMATIONJ.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director | Chris Fodde, Assistant Sports Information Director

WELLNESS CENTERRodney Carter, Director of the Wellness Center

ATHLETIC TRAININGElise Carlson, Head Athletic Trainer

Gretel Briand, Asst. Athletic Trainer

Tamara Jacob, Asst. Athletic Trainer

Marc Mendez, Asst. Athletic Trainer

CHEERLEADING/DANCEKalyn James, Head CoachAyana Harris, Asst. CoachAlicia Archer, Asst. CoachAlexis Archer, Asst. Coach

FOOTBALL Tim Harris, Head CoachNitron Stork, Defensive CoordinatorPierre Senatus, Defensive Line CoachCarl Cunningham, Asst. D-Line CoachBrandon Washington, Offensive Line CoachPaul Lasseur, Asst. Offensive Line Coach/Video CoordinatorDavon Johnson, Wide Receivers CoachStephanie Anderson, Team Operations Manager

MEN’S BASEBALLFlorentino Burgos, Head CoachAndre Payne, Asst. CoachAntonio Alfonseca, Asst. CoachRicardo Gonzalez, Asst. Coach

Angel Rivera, Asst. Coach

MEN’S BASKETBALLAnsar Al-Ameen, Head CoachAndre Thomas, Asst. Coach

Jason Gilliam-Alexander, Asst. Coach

MEN’S SOCCERConnor Campbell, Head Coach

MEN/WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD Marlon Baugh, Head Coach

WOMEN’S BASKETBALLGregory Stanback, Head CoachJoy Al-Ameen, Asst. CoachTaylor Payne, Asst. Coach

WOMEN’S SOCCERLogan Langseth, Head CoachAnna Maliszewska, Asst. Coach

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL/BEACH VOLLEYBALLMarrita Crockett-Moulton, Head CoachJeffrey Hardman, Assistant Coach

Strength CoachesAaron Thompson, Head Strength & Conditioning CoachRyan Huffman, Asst. Strength & Conditioning Coach

Equipment ManagersClavens Charles, Equipment ManagerGiancarlo Robletto, Equipment Coordinator

Thanks to his conference-leading 10.6 rebounds per night to go along with his nearly 15 points per night, Florida Memorial University junior center

Mubashar Ali was named to the Sun Conference’s all-conference First Team, it was announced on February 27th.

Ali was among the 10 players selected to the conference’s first team. St.

Thomas University, Keiser University, and Sun Conference regular season champion Southeastern University all had two players selected to the first team, while Ave Maria University and Warner University each had one.

Aside from leading the conference in total rebounding, he also topped

the Sun Conference in field goal percentage (.553) and fifth in blocks. The 7-footer from Helsinki, Finland had 11 straight games scoring 14 points or more and even turned in a 33-point, 13-rebound performance in the Lions’

November matchup with Florida National University.

Florida Memorial University’s women’s basketball team had pair of players receive all-conference honors, as the Sun Conference announced its postseason superlatives on February 27th. Lions senior forward Isis Lane was named an All-Sun Conference first-team selection, capping her final collegiate season where she led FMU in points,

rebounds, and blocks per game.

The 6-foot-4, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native produced 14 double-doubles this season – at one point notching six consecutive nights with at least 10 points and 10

rebounds – while building team-high 14.4 points and 10.9 boards per game averages for the season.

While Lane’s consistent production buoyed the Florida Memorial, she flashed the for big, season-defining performances as well. She went for 39 points and eight rebounds

in a February matchup with Thomas University. She also 19-point, 21-rebound performance against St. Thomas University and a 21-point, 16-rebound night against

Keiser University back in January.

FMU Honors Sun Conference Volleyball Champs With “Ring Night”


Volume 1|Issue 5| pg. 3

Florida Memorial University honored its 2019 Sun Conference champion women’s volleyball team on February 15th with a special “ring night” ceremony at halftime of FMU’s men’s basketball game.

The Lady Lions, who captured the school’s first-ever Sun Conference volleyball title this past November, were presented with their commemorative rings – gold, dia-mond-encrusted pieces complete with each player’s name along with a blue and or-ange lion designed into the top – by Florida Memorial University president Dr. Jaffus Hardrick, provost Dr. Adrienne Cooper, athletics director Ernest T. Jones, and board of trustees chairman William McCormick.

FMU head coach Marrita Crockett-Moulton, who led her team to the conference tournament championship in just her first season guiding the team, addressed the crowd and thanked the administration and the fans for their support of the team while also acknowledging her team for their history-making season.



FMU Signs 45 In First National Signing Day Football Class

On a day where high school football players around the country were announcing where they’d be taking their talents for college, for the first time in over six decades Florida Memorial University was their announced destination. In his first year leading FMU’s rebirthed football program, head coach Tim “Ice” Harris saw 45 players sign national letters of intent to attend Florida Memorial and play football for the Lions on February 5th. It was a historic day for Florida Memorial University, the only historically Black college/university (HBCU) in South Florida, as it was taking part in what has become football’s National Signing Day for the first time in the modern era.

Harris, a three-time winner of the Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year Award and 2007 USA Today National Coach of the Year during his tenure as the head coach of Miami Book-er T. Washington High School, said he and his staff did their due diligence in building the inaugural recruiting class. “Today was a huge success for Florida Memorial University football,” Harris said. “As soon as I became the head coach, I hit the recruiting trail…as did the rest of my coaching staff once they came aboard. It was a special task building this class because we weren’t just recruiting for specific positions of need – we were putting together the whole picture. We were looking for young men that were winners on the field as well as in the classroom. We wanted to recruit guys that are hungry, with a chip on their shoulder, and are ready to come in here and compete on and off the field. We went from Homestead across the entire state of Florida and even into the state of Georgia to recruit talented, high-character young men that wanted to be a part of building something special here at Florida Memorial University,” Harris added. Harris and his staff ’s footprints across the Southeast showed in the diversity of the schools represented amongst the 2020 spring signees. Florida Memorial signed student-athletes from Florida high school state championship-winning schools Miami Northwestern, Miami Central, and Miami Booker T. Washington along players with Miami-Dade County powerhouse programs Miami Carol City, Coral Gables, Miami Killian and Southridge High School. Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School, Doral Academy, Dr. Michael Krop High School, Hallandale High School, Coral Springs High School, Coconut Creek High School, Fort Lauderdale Dillard, Hollywood Hills, and Pompano Beach Blanche Ely all had players sign with the Lions on Wednesday. Harris also received NLI’s from players from St. Petersburg Lakewood, Poinciana High School, Tallahassee Jefferson County High School, Gadsden County High School, Treasure Coast High School, and Daytona Beach Mainland. FMU’s reach into the Peach State yielded a pair of signees from Bain-bridge High School. While Wednesday’s signing class was vast, those student-athletes will be joining an already-growing roster of players that will be a part of the Lions’ football program. Harris already has 65 student-athletes within the football program that have been going through offseason workouts in preparation for FMU’s upcoming spring practice sessions – which will begin on March 9th. Florida Memorial will play its first football game this coming fall and compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ (NAIA) Mid-South Conference. The last football game played by the Lions was a 14-8 win over Albany State in 1958. The University, then called Florida Normal and Industrial Institute, competed in the Southeastern Athletic Conference. From 1945-58 the team finished with an all-time record of 41 wins, 25 loses and six ties with a break in the 1949 season. Harris said that he’s been instilling the cul-ture of his program since he was handed the reins of the program and that the players that are already in place will aid in continuing that process once the new players arrive on campus. “We have a good number of young men already here, working, grinding, and getting better,” Harris said. “Those guys are doing a great job of setting the foundation for the program and they’ll be the guys that we, as coaches, look at to be leaders and show the young guys how things go here.” “I’m very excited about where things are going.”



There’s a hackneyed sports cliché that says “big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games”. After the performances of Florida Memorial Univer-sity senior Isis Lane and freshman Ixsamar Gonzalez in what was, arguably, the Lady Lions’ biggest of game of the season up to this point – you can apply it once again. Led by Lane’s 19 points and season-high 21 rebounds along with Gonzalez’s career high 18 points, Flor-ida Memorial manufactured a 70-60 victory over St. Thomas University on February 8th in front of a near-capacity crowd in the FMU Wellness Center on FMU’s Homecoming. It was a special day all-around for Florida Memorial University.

The school celebrated what will be its final spring (basketball) homecoming as it transitions to a fall (football) homecoming – scheduled for October 10 – while also honoring longtime FMU women’s bas-ketball coach Kenneth Marshall, unveiling a placard naming the women’s locker room in his honor.

Florida Memorial entered the night essentially tied with St. Thomas (9-15, 6-8) for the sixth spot in the Sun Conference standings. Because only the top six of the 10 teams qualify for the conference’s postseason tourna-ment, Saturday’s game carried extra weight.

Lane’s and Gonzalez’s big nights were the products of favorable genetics. The 6-foot-1 Gonzalez and the 6-foot-4 Lane were able to run roughshod over the St. Thomas frontcourt – which only featured one player at 5-foot-11 – as the Lady Lions grabbed 50 rebounds to St. Thomas’ 29 and won the second-chance points battle 17-5.

FMU head coach Gregory Stanback said that he knew his team’s success against St. Thomas – which beat FMU in their first meeting back in December – would come down to his team’s ability to capitalize on its size advan-tage.

Florida Memorial, which will host College of Coastal Georgia on Thursday (Feb. 13), not only did itself a huge favor with the victory over the Lady Bobcats – who were led by Kylie Vogel’s 14 points – but also maintained its ability to climb into a much more favorable spot in the Sun Conference standings.

Lane & Gonzalez Powers Lady Lions 70-60 Win Over St. Thomas In Homecoming game



Lions Put On Dominant Performance, Routs Johnson & Wales

There’s an oft-used platitude in sports that says “you’re only as good as your last game”.

Given the way Florida Memorial University’s men’s last game of the season went, one could say that the Lions are quite good. Junior Quvondo Johnson scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as he was one of six FMU players to score in double-fig-ures in what was – arguably – the team’s best performance of the season in a 101-51 drubbing of visiting Johnson and Wales University February 22nd afternoon in the FMU Wellness Center. The Lions completely dominated, stretching their 20-point halftime lead out to 50 by the end of the night – essentially turning the contest into a glorified pickup game that featured highlight-worthy dunks and deep three-pointers that excited the already-rollicking crowd on hand. FMU was so comfortable in its lead late in the second half, the team began having a friendly compe-tition to see who would be the one to score the basket that would push the score into triple-digits.

Senior guard Omar Outar thought he be the one, but his deep step-back three-pointer only drew iron and bounced into the hands of guard Kase Car-rera, who then drove to the basket and laid in an easy finger roll to put the Lions ahead 101-50 with 36 seconds left to play.

Johnson’s 25 came on an efficient 12-of-16 shooting; Outar knocked down five three-pointers to total his 15 points; Cheikh Kebe added 15 points in 15 minutes of action; Kyle Young also had 15 point to go along with 13 boards; while Mubashar Ali and Kaleb Darrett each finished with 10 points.Darrett nearly “messed around” and got a triple-double, dishing out nine assists and grabbing seven steals in his 28 minutes of action.



JWU Spoils Lady Lions’ Senior Day Celebration

Two things that always spell disaster on a basketball court are poor shooting and turnovers. As haunting as each can be on its own, it’s even worse when a team is troubled by both. Florida Memorial University’s women picked the wrong night to shoot a paltry 31 percent from the field and accumulate 22 turnovers as they watched Johnson and Wales University pull away in the fourth quarter and take a 60-49 victory on the Lions’ home floor on February 22nd.Worse yet, the loss came on a night when FMU was honoring its grad-uating seniors in what would be the final regular season home game of their careers. Two nearly quarters ended up being Florida Memorial’s undoing Saturday. After jumping out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter and holding a 16-10 advantage over the Lady Wildcats by the end of the first, the Lions shooting percentage went off a cliff as they only scored eight points in the second quarter and were outscored 16-8. FMU re-gained the lead by the end of third quarter (41-38) – thanks to a strong quarter from senior Isis Lane – but saw that lead dwindle as Johnson and Wales began to find its shooting stroke in the fourth quarter as they lost their own. The Wildcats took the lead (43-42) with just under seven minutes to play and never relinquished it as Florida Memorial mustered just eight points in the final quarter. It was tough a loss for Florida Memorial in terms of its playoff seed-ing as well. Having lost their previous game – a buzzer-beating road defeat at Ave Maria on Thursday – the Lions needed a win Saturday to completely cement their spot in the Sun Conference postseason tournament.



FMU Names Women’s Locker Room After Legendary Coach

Lions Hoist Banner In Honor of Former AD & Coach

Not only did the Florida Memorial University’s women’s basketball team honor its former coach, the school – along with the Lions’ men’s basketball team – also hoisted a banner recognizing the service and contributions of former FMU men’s basketball coach and athletic director Alfred “Big Jim” Parker.

Parker, like Marshall, served Florida Memorial Uni-versity for more than 30 years and served in multiple roles.

More than two dozen of former FMU student-athletes whom Parker either coached or mentored gathered around the legendary coach as the banner was un-veiled.

Florida Memorial University’s athletics program as a whole, but specifically its women’s basketball program made a grand gesture during its homecoming festivities, electing to name the women’s basketball locker room in honor of former FMU head women’s basketball coach Kenneth Marshall. Marshall led the Lions’ women’s hoops program for 36 years, racking up just about every significant school record in his tenure – including most wins and championships won. A blue plaque with orange letters now adorns the wall above the doorway of the wom-en’s locker room bearing Marshall’s name, something he said that was overjoyed to see.

“When they first told me about it, I said ‘that’s nice’, but as we got closer to the day of it happening, I really start-ed to realize just how special this is,” said Marshall, who still visits practices and games to help his former assis-tant coach and current FMU head coach Gregory Stanback. “It means so much to me and my family that Florida Memorial did this. The school is a part of my family and will always have a special place in my heart.”



FMU Knocks Off Ave Maria To Win First Beach Volleyball Match

For all the fanfare and excitement that comes along with the opening of a new season – there’s still the business of the actual games to tend to.

Florida Memorial University broke the seal on its beach volleyball season on February 21st and earned its first regu-lar season victory a day later as the Lady Lions defeated Ave Maria University 3-2 on February 22nd. The match, which was played on neutral sand at St. Thomas University, was the Lions’ second in as many days, as they played their season-opener on February 21. Florida Memorial (1-1) was able to manufacture its victory thanks to wins by No. 1 team Rachele Mancinelli and Agusti-na Busque; No. 4 pair Francheska Rivera and Alanis Santana; and No. 5 pair Azmabeth Infante / Keisha Santana Roldan.

Florida Memorial head coach Marrita Crocket-Moulton said she was proud of her team regardless of the outcome, and that they need to keep working hard because they still have a lot more games to show who they really are.



5-Seed FMU Look To Topple 4-Seed Webber International In Sun Conference Tourney Opening Round

The Lady Lions and Warriors are two of six qualifying teams in the conference’s postseason tourney. The top two seeds – Southeastern University and College of Coastal Georgia – received first-round byes, while the remaining four teams will play in the opening round with the higher seeds hosting the games. FMU (14-14, 8-10 Sun Conference) earned the No. 5 seed thanks to owning a common opponent tiebreaker with No. 6 seed Ave Maria, setting up the first-round showdown with Webber International (17-11, 11-7).

In facing the Lady Warriors, Florida Memorial will be taking on a team that it split contests with during the regu-lar season. FMU won the first meeting between the programs, a 72-66 November victory for the Lions on Web-ber’s home floor. The Warriors stole the second game away from FMU in the FMU Wellness Center, winning the January 25th tilt 63-61 after Florida Memorial’s last-second, potentially game-winning shot went errant. What’s been a constant in the two meetings is the competitiveness of both games. Neither team completely flexed their muscle on the other – both would have flashes and make runs, but both games ultimately went to the team that was able to make plays – or avoid mistakes – in clutch moments. When FMU had its most success against Webber International – and anyone else for that matter – it’s been when multiple players have given Lions head coach Gregory Stanback tangible offensive contributions. In the Lions’ win over Webber, Isis Lane, Shawnice King, and Airneisha Gamble all scored 15 points or more – with Lane and King each totaling 17.

One of the great things about college basket-ball is its version of the postseason. Unlike the professional leagues that work on a best-of series format, the collegiate game is the ultimate “win or go home” stage. The “best team” has to make sure that it indeed is the best team on that given night – or else.No. 5 seed Florida Memorial University will be out to prove that it is the best team on the floor on February 25th when it travels to Babson Park, Florida to take on No. 4 seed Webber International University in the opening round of the Sun Conference women’s basketball tournament at 6 p.m. in Webber’s Sabbagh Athletic Center. The Lady Lions and Warriors are two of six qualifying teams in the conference’s post-season tourney. The top two seeds – South-eastern University and College of Coastal Georgia – received first-round byes, while the remaining four teams will play in the opening round with the higher seeds hosting the games.



Marinez’s Walk-Off Lifts FMU Over FNU In Extra Innings

That tenth-inning hit was the punctuation on what was a solid day for Marinez. The centerfielder was 3-of-4, with two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Florida Memorial (1-5), continued its dominance over Florida National (1-5), earning its third win in four meet-ings – even if Tuesday’s game was the closest game between the programs. The Lions’ bats were alive early as they plated a run in the first inning – with Marinez coming home on an Axel Gomez single to right – and tacked on two more in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of the Conquista-dores’ starting pitchers’ breakdown that loaded the bases. Gomez went 1-of-5 on the day with his RBI; James Spatafora was 1-of-3; and Rohandry Javier was 2-for-3 as the Lions stole six bases and left 11 on base. That 3-0 lead lasted until the top of the sixth inning when FNU was able to get to FMU’s Samuel Briehn, plating three runs before he left the game after he was struck in the hand by a line drive.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – It took an extra inning, but Florida Memorial University won its first game of the season on February 11 with junior Gabriel Marinez playing the role of hero as he drove in the game-winning run with a line drive up the middle to lift the Lions to a 4-3 win over visiting Florida National University. With two on and two out and the game tied at three, Marinez stepped to the plate to face FNU’s Armando Rodri-guez. Marinez was able to make contact with a hanging pitch, sending the ball over the outstretched hand of the Conquistadores’ shortstop and into the gap in front of the centerfielder as Nathan Llanes trotted in from third for the game-winning run.

Baseball March 6-7 | vs. Chestnut Hill College

March 10 | vs. Florida National University, 2pmMarch 12 | at Caldwell University, 3pm (Lantana, Fla.)

March 13-14 | vs. Bryant & Stratton CollegeMarch 17 | vs. Edward Waters College (DH), 2pm & 4:30pm

March 20-21 | vs. Thomas UniversityMarch 27-28 | vs. Webber International University

Track & FieldMarch 7 | SSU Tiger Orange & Blue Meet, Savannah, Ga.March 13 | Coastal Carolina Invitational, Conway, S.C.March 21 | Miami Hurricane Invitational, Miami, Fla.

March 26 | Florida State Relays, Tallahassee, Fla.

Beach VolleyballMarch 7 | at Webber International, 1pm

March 7 | vs. Warner University, 3pm (Webber)March 20 | at St. Thomas University, TBA

March 21 | vs. St. Petersburg College, 10:15am (FIU South)March 21 | vs. Stetson University, 12pm, (FIU South)

March 21 | vs. FIU, 5:15pm (FIU South)March 27 | vs. Stanford University, 4pm (Miami Beach)

March 27 | vs. Univ. of North Florida, 6pm (Miami Beach)March 29 | vs. Nicholls State Univ., 11am (Miami Beach)

March 29 | vs. FAU, 2 pm (Miami Beach)March 29 | vs. FIU, 4:30pm (Miami Beach)

Coming Up in March

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Volleyball: @fmulionsvolleyballMen’s Soccer: @fmulionssoccerWomen’s Soccer: @fmuwsoccerTrack: @fmutrackandfieldMen’s Basketball: @fmu_mbbWomen’s Basketball: @fmuwbbCheerleading: @fmucheerBaseball: @lionsfmubaseballFootball: @fmulionsfb

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florida memorial university lions’ den inside the · 2020-03-01 · florida memorial will play...

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