MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—For the fifth time in 13 games, the Fire men's basketball team played a team ranked in the NAIA Division II Top 25.
Unlike the other four games, the Fire came away with a win.
Southeastern defeated No. 14 Bethel 74-73 to improve to 8-5 on the season, securing the team's fifth straight win.
The Fire recorded 10 steals as a team, with
CJ Reese and Deshaun Wilcox tallying three each to lead the defensive charge. Not included was the defensive stand in the final seven seconds to keep the Pilots from getting off a game-winning shot.
Trailing by 12 with 5:28 left, Reese connected on a pair of 3's, followed by a
Jase Miguez 3-ball to make it a 30-27 deficit with 4:04 left. Another 3-pointer by
Harrison Hebert with 40 seconds left, and one by Wilcox at the horn gave the Fire a 40-36 advantage at the half.
Southeastern had as much as a 13-point lead (56-43) with 14:16 left, but a 14-2 run by the Pilots put them up 73072 with 70 seconds left. During that span of 4:04, the Fire committed four of their 16 turnovers, and were 1-of-3 at the free throw line.
Reese ran the floor and converted a layup with 56 seconds left to put the Fire up for good. The junior led all scorers with 25 points, had six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and played all 40 minutes.
Miguez added 15 points off the bench, connecting on three 3-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds.
Jeremy Oppenheimer and
Wesley Johnson each scored 11 points.
Things don't get any easier as the Fire take on the seventh-ranked Taylor Trojans in Lakeland on Wednesday.
