WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Southeastern went 2-0 during the English Family Classic, hosted by Keiser University, securing a 68-62 win over Northern New Mexico.
With the game tied at 25 with 5:31 left in the first half, the Fire closed the period on a 9-2 run, which included a 3-pointer by
Larry Taylor just before the break to give SEU (10-5) a 34-27 lead at the half.
A 7-1 run by the Fire gave them their biggest lead of the night with 11:59 to go, culminated with a basket by
Isaac Barsh, which put SEU up 53-41.
The Eagles were never able to get the game under two possessions the rest of the night. Over the final 1:40 of the contest, when NNU (5-7) put the Fire at the line, SEU responded by hitting nine of its 10 free throw attempts to ice the game, after having struggled from the free throw line just 24 hours earlier.
As a team, SEU was 16-of-21 at the charity stripe, and was 44% from the field.
Leading the way for the Fire was senior
Jake Hodges, who scored a game-high 22 points, and had five rebounds. Taylor added 12 points and three rebounds.
Elijah Ray was the team's leading rebounder with seven, and added 10 points, fouling out in 25 minutes.
The Fire return to Sun Conference play on Wednesday at home against red-hot Warner at 7:30 p.m.
