Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.- Down by 17 with 16:15 to go in the game, it looked as if Southeastern was in the midst of a blowout loss at the hands of second-ranked Embry-Riddle.
A late run by the Fire gave them the lead with 2:30 to go, but ended up falling to the Eagles in the end, 74-72.
Southeastern (12-6, 6-3 TSC) used a 10-0 run, during which they held the Eagles scoreless for nearly four minutes to cut their deficit to three with 8:03 to go in the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Caleb Konieczny and Jordan Talley tied the game at 59 with 7:00 to play.
Embry-Riddle (19-1, 7-1 TSC) quickly answered with six straight points within two minutes to rebuild their lead. The back-and-forth continued on four straight points by Konieczny, then a basket by Andre' Winston with 4:14 left to knot the game at 65.
The Fire took the lead for the first time with 2:30 to play on a layup by Dana Thomas on a steal by Talley to put SEU up 70-68. On the ensuing possession, a 3-ball by Reed Ridder gave the Eagles the lead for good.
SEU had one last chance with the ball under the basket with two seconds to go, but a 3-point attempt from the far corner fell short at the horn.
"The biggest difference in the second half was our guards picked up the pressure and did a good job shading the ball handlers," said coach R-Jay Barsh. "We changed up our defense a little bit to keep them from getting good passes into the post."
The first half was dominated by Embry-Riddle, with center Cesar Pastrana scoring 17 of his 19 points in the game's first 20 minutes. The Eagles quickly built a 10-point lead with 15:11 left, leading 14-4 with nine of those points coming from Pastrana.
The first half advantage grew to as much as 13 at two different occasions, both on baskets by Joe Gonzalez, as late as the 1:39 mark. A three-point play by Winston made the SEU halftime deficit 10 (39-29).
An 8-0 run by the Eagles early in the second half pushed the second half lead to 17 before the Fire made their run.
"Our guys played harder and stronger," said Barsh of his team's second half effort that saw them outscore the Eagles 43-35, and shoot 53% from the field. "Our effort was amazing; to be down 17 to the #2 team in the country, and have a chance to win the ballgame excites our coaching staff to see this team continue to improve."
Winston led the Fire with a game-high 21 points, and added three assists and two steals. Konieczny, Tim Mitchell, and Larry Taylor scored 11 points apiece. Thomas was the squad's leading rebounder with 11.
The Fire next take the court on Thursday when they host St. Thomas at 7:30 p.m.
