Box Score LAKELAND, FLA.- In a duel between two nationally-ranked teams, #17 Southeastern suffered their first conference loss of the season at the hands of #13 Northwood, losing by a score of 72-63. In a game dominated by aggressive defense, there were 8 ties and 8 lead changes.
Seven of the eight lead changes came in the first 16 minutes of the game. The Seahawks extended their lead to 11 on five straight points by Fred Mattison, who finished with a game-high 23 points, and added nine rebounds. Baskets by Xavier Burrow and Andre' Winston cut the halftime deficit to six at 36-30.
The Fire went on a 10-0 run to take a two-point lead with 15:48 to go on a 3-pointer by Winston. The Seahawks came back to tie the contest with 11:45 left on a pair of free throws by Chris Solomon which kicked off a 14-0 and resulted in Northwood taking a 10-point lead with 9:13 to go when Solomon connected on one of his three 3-pointers on the night, and finished with 18 points.
Southeastern was kept at arms-length the remainder of the contest, getting no closer than four with 4:01 left.
Tim Mitchell scored 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks, good for his seventh double-double of the year. Andre' Winston led the team in scoring with 20–his fourth straight game that he has scored at least 20 points.
The Fire (8-4, 2-1 TSC) were outsized and the rebounds reflected that. The Seahawks (9-3, 2-0 TSC) won the battle of the boards, 38 to 22. "We're still trying to figure out how to win games against bigger teams. We have to keep fighting and battling," said coach R-Jay Barsh.
Senior Jordan Talley had a season-high 12 points for the Fire on 5-of-11 shooting. Defensively, the Fire forced 18 turnovers, while giving it up 13 times.
SEU continues Sun Conference play Saturday, as they'll travel down to Miami to take on the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats. Game time is set for 4pm.
