KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Four different players were double digit scorers as the Southeastern University Fire held off the resilient Trinity Baptist College Eagles 76-73 in their first game of the Johnson University Classic.
SEU started off strong, jumping out to a 13-3 lead within the first five minutes. Junior forward
Wesley Johnson scored four of his team-high nine first half points during that stretch. However, the Eagles rattled off 11 unanswered points to take their first lead of the game 14-13 with 12:25 to go in the half.
The Fire ended the half on an 8-0 run to take a 34-27 lead into the half despite only shooting 40% from the field including 11% from three point range.
Standing out for Southeastern in the second half was junior guard
Harrison Hebert. The Sarasota, Fla. native scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half including three consecutive three point attempts converted.
The Fire also received a strong effort from junior guard C.J. Reese, who in his season debut for SEU led the team in scoring with 18 points and in assists with three.
Senior forward
Josue Celestin also contributed in a mighty way. Celestin notched his third straight double digit scoring game and recorded the first double-double of his SEU career with ten points and ten rebounds.
"Shots weren't falling but guys found a way to keep us in the game. Adding C.J. was a big bonus for us," shared Head Coach
R-Jay Barsh.
The Eagles stayed on pace with the Fire throughout the second half, never trailing by more than 11. TBC outscored SEU 7-2 in the last 1:29 to play to cut the deficit to three points with 14 seconds remaining. Gary Mims missed a three point attempt that would have sent the game into overtime.
The Fire will look to earn their second win in the Johnson Classic as they take on host school, Johnson University of Florida, tomorrow at 2 p.m.
