Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.- Every coach will tell you the same thing. We need to be playing our best come tournament time.
The Southeastern men's basketball team is doing exactly that.
Behind a dominant performance in the post by senior Tim Mitchell, the Fire secured an 86-64 win over Thomas to advance to The Sun Conference Semifinals. The win was the fourth straight for SEU after having lost six-of-seven.
"A big key for us tonight was Tim didn't have foul trouble," said coach R-Jay Barsh. "He had a lot of confidence and energy. He clogged up the paint, he was vertical, and on the offensive end, he didn't let the double (team) hurt him."
Mitchell finished the night with 18 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, two steals, and two assists.
In the second half, the Night Hawks (18-11) narrowed what was once a 15-point deficit to an eight point disadvantage with 9:57 left on a put-back layup by Ty Bull. The Fire answered with a 24-6 run to shut the door on Thomas' hopes for an upset. Nine of those points came from senior guard Andre' Winston, who finished with a game-high 23 points. He also added seven rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals.
Southeastern (17-11) took an early 9-2 lead in the first half, but Thomas answered with a 7-0 run to knot the game at nine. The Fire answered with a 9-0 run, and never looked back.
"We've really been working on our zone defense and focusing on when to come out and defend guys at the 3-point line," said Barsh.
Senior Dana Thomas was key for the Fire as well, joining Mitchell with a double-double effort of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Thomas also had three blocks, two steals, and an assist. Caleb Konieczny was in double figures with 10 points off the bench, and collected five rebounds in 21 minutes.
As a team, the Fire scored 46 points in the paint, blocked 11 shots, and outrebounded the Night Hawks by 18.
The Fire will take on St. Thomas on Monday at 5 p.m. in Daytona Beach, with the winner advancing to Tuesday's championship game.
