MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Four Morningside starters scored in double figures as No. 17 Morningside defeated Receiving Votes St. Thomas 87-82. 

The Mustangs opened up a five-point halftime lead behind 10 points from Joey Skoff. It would be Skoff who carried the weight of the scoring in the second half as well, adding 21 points to his total to finish with 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting and went a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line.

The Mustangs came out of the halftime break quickly, opening up a 12-point advantage before St. Thomas trimmed the game back to four, 57-53, with 11:32 to play. The lead ballooned again for the Mustangs, who never trailed in the second half despite runs from St. Thomas, and was at 13, 80-67 with 4:10 to play.

A 15-2 run from St. Thomas tied the game at 82 with 1:27 to play, but the Mustangs were able to finish off the game strong, scoring the final five points of the intense non-conference showdown. The Mustangs led for 26:23 of the games' final 26:44 of game time.

Skoff may have been the game's leading scorer with 31 points, but it was a team effort for the Mustangs. Jack Dotzler nearly had a triple-double, tallying 12 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Ely Doble added 14 points and Aidan Vanderloo 12 points. Brendan Buckley added a game-high 12 rebounds and eight points.

The Mustangs are back in action Wednesday night against No. 22 Florida Memorial at 7 p.m.