Box Score WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.– It was a crucial must-win matchup for both teams heading into Saturday's game. Both Southeastern and Northwood were on the bubble with the Sun Conference tournament looming. But with the season on the line, the Fire were victorious over the Seahawks, winning 71-65. SEU snaps their four-game losing streak and Northwood (14-9, 6-6 TSC) drops their fourth game in seven contests.
The Fire (13-9, 7-6 TSC) got off to a hot start; with 10:05 remaining in the first half, Jordan Talley sank a 3-pointer to give SEU a 24-8 lead. Northwood had an answer of their own, however, as they went on a 22-11 run to cut their deficit to five going into the locker room.
With 17:31 to go, the Seahawks tied the game on a free throw from Fred Mattison and took a brief three-point lead 30 seconds later. Caleb Konieczny drained the equalizer with 16:30 to go, but then the Seahawks looked as if they were going to snatch the game away. NU held their lead for 11 minutes until the Fire fought back. A go-ahead basket by Washington State transfer Tana Pritchard put the Fire ahead by one with 4:48 to go. The two teams engaged in a tug-of-war for another couple minutes until the Fire tied and took the lead with 2:50 to go on two straight free throw conversions by Andre' Winston. After that, the Fire held on as if their season depended on it and pulled out the pivotal road victory.
Larry Taylor led the offense in the victory, scoring 16 points on 5-13 shooting. Winston, Konieczny, and Tim Mitchell all turned in impressive performances by scoring in the double digits. Pritchard came off the bench and played a big role in the win, scoring 9 points on 4-5 shooting as well.
It won't get any easier for the Fire next week. On Tuesday at 7:30, they'll travel up to Thomasville, Georgia to take on the Nighthawks of Thomas University. Then, two days later, they'll go up to Daytona Beach to play #2 Embry Riddle in what will be a huge Sun Conference matchup.
