Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.- A 66-point second half rescued Southeastern from a 5-point halftime deficit to give the Fire a 93-80 win over Thomas Saturday afternoon at The Furnace.
"The key was building from the inside out," said Coach R-Jay Barsh. "We challenged the team to get tougher and attack the inside before we did anything else."
The return of Dana Thomas after missing the last three games with an injury was a welcome sight. The senior scored 20 points off the bench, grabbed four rebounds, had a block, a steal, and two assists. Junior Larry Taylor scored a season-high 21 points, recorded seven assists, and three steals to power SEU.
"It was great for Larry to put it all together in a game," said Barsh. "We know he's a great player, because we see it every day in practice."
Down 32-27 after 20 minutes of play, the Fire (10-5, 4-2 TSC) scored the first six points in the second half to take a 33-32 lead. That was part of a 19-8 run to take a 51-40 lead with 13:35 left. During this run, the Fire connected on 10 of their 13 field goal attempts.
The Fire also held an 11-point lead with 8:39 left after a jumper by Larry Taylor put Southeastern up 63-52, and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way. During the second half, Southeastern outscored Thomas 66-48, and shot 70% from the field.
A sluggish start found SEU down 16-9 with 14:55 left in the first after a 3-pointer by Max Grace, but the Fire answered with a 9-0 run; five of which were scored by senior Jordan Tally, to take an 18-16 lead with 10:54 to go. A three-point play by Caleb Konieczny gave the Fire their biggest first half lead with 10:13 to go at 21-18.
An 8-0 run by the Night Hawks put them up five, and in control of the rest of the half.
Senior Tim Mitchell added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Fire. Talley added 14 off the bench, and Konieczny was also in double-figures with 10.
The Fire next take the court on Tuesday when they travel to Babson Park to take on Webber International at 5:30 p.m.
