Sports Contact: J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director

E-mail: JWilcox@ASA.edu

Twitter/Instagram: @ASASilverStorm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 9, 2019

HIALEAH, FL – After seeing its 15-point second half lead completely evaporate and ended up trailing by two points with just under four minutes left in the game, ASA Miami held Advance Prep Postgraduate Academy without a basket and manufactured a five-point spurt to come away with a 76-73 victory Saturday afternoon at The Dent.

Freshman forward Marko Jovanovic, who finished with a team-high 16 points Saturday, tied the game at 73 with a free throw line jumper and freshman wing Jaryn McCann put the Silver Storm up 75-73 with a breakaway layup. After getting another defensive stop, McCann knocked down what was essentially the game-sealing free throw when he made one of two with 13 seconds left in the game.

Advance Prep threw up a desperation heave in an attempt to tie the game as the buzzer sounded, but it clanked off the rim – giving the Silver Storm their third straight victory, a new men's program record. It was also ASA Miami's second narrow victory over the Panthers this year, having defeated the prep school 86-85 two months ago thanks to a Levard Missick Jr. free throw.

ASA Miami (8-18) came into Saturday's game having already a program mark by notching back-to-back Southern Conference (SOCON) wins for the first time – defeating Indian River State College and knocking off Palm Beach State College over the past week – earning the non-conference victory Saturday still meant a lot to the Silver Storm.

"As a coaching staff we knew what winning this game meant for the program," ASA Miami head coach Jean Dubuisson said Saturday. "We're in playoff mode already. Winning the two conference games keeps our destiny in our hands and winning [against Advance Prep] keeps the momentum going for us as we head into another stretch of important conference games."

The Silver Storm looked like a team determined to make their first state tournament appearance with how they came out against the Panthers. ASA opened an 18-point lead in the first half, using a pair of 8-0 runs to put APA in a 33-15 hole with 6:29 left before halftime. Advance Prep clawed its way back into the game by halftime, only trailing the Silver Storm 48-40 as the teams went to the locker rooms. ASA Miami opened its lead over the visiting Panthers to 60-45 not even five minutes into the second half, but APA outscored ASA 28-11 over a 13-minute span to the Silver Storm in the trail position for the first time since the opening basket of the game.

Aside from Jovanovic, freshman guard Gabe Casey was the only other Silver Storm player to record double-digit points Saturday. Casey knocked down a team-high four three-pointers – including a step-back shot from long range at the first half buzzer – to finish with 12 points. While no others reach 10, all eight ASA players that logged minutes Saturday recorded points – nine from Sebastian Jean, eight from McCann, seven from Matt Maturah and Malik Brikat, and five points and three assists from reserve point guard Hiroki Hamazaki.

ASA Miami also outrebounded Advance Prep 50-33, thanks to Jovanovic's team-high eight boards, Jean's seven, and Bernard Malual's six rebounds.

Up Next: The Silver Storm will have a couple of days to recharge and refocus before traveling to Broward College this Wednesday (Feb. 13) to play a what will be a "must-win" conference game at 7:30 p.m.