MITCHELL, S.D.— In its final game in the Mike Miller Classic against #12 Dakota Wesleyan University, Southeastern dropped a high-scoring contest to fall to 9-7 on the season.
Despite a quick start, the Fire ended the game on the short side of a 106-97 decision.
The Fire started the game strong, taking an early 15-8 advantage behind combination play by
CJ Reese,
Wesley Johnson, and
Jeremy Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer and Johnson recorded double-digit scoring efforts in the first half, tallying 16 and 14 points, respectively. Both players also added four rebounds, while Oppenheimer recorded two helpers in the period.
After nine lead changes took place, the fundamentally-sound Tigers were on the right side of a five point game heading into the half.
Hot 3-point shooting kept the Fire in the competition for the majority of the second half, despite several double-digit deficits. Oppenheimer led the Fire attack by connecting on four of his five attempts from beyond the arc and registering a career high and game-high 29 points, while adding seven total rebounds and five assists. Reese, who had 22 of his 28 points in the second period, also contributed to the offensive charge for Southeastern. He had a team-high eight assists in the game.
Southeastern fought valiantly; however, Dakota Wesleyan's high-powered offense continued to fire on all cylinders, as three Tiger players (Trae Vandeberg, Ty Hogland, and Jason Spicer) scored more than 20 points. Due to the way the Tigers spread the ball around, Vandeberg, Spicer, and Tate Martin all recorded double-doubles on the night.
Late in the game, the Tigers were able to capitalize off of Fire turnovers and pull away with impressive free throw shooting to seal the contest. Dakota Wesleyan had 20 points off of 10 Southeastern turnovers on the night, while the Fire only had six points from eight Tiger mistakes. Likewise, the Tigers shot 90 percent from the charity stripe, converting 27 of their 30 attempts, compared to SEU's mere 54.5 percent on 11 attempts.
For the Fire, Johnson finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Deshaun Wilcox added 11 points after draining all three of his 3-pt field goal tries.
Southeastern will return to their home court on January 5
th, as they take on Webber International at 7pm.
