LAKELAND, Fla. – The Southeastern University men's basketball team is looking to get back on track and snap a six game winless streak. SEU is coming off a tough home loss to the St. Thomas University Bobcats 87-77 in which the Fire fell short during a late second half rally. The Fire will have the opportunity to build confidence and momentum with a home matchup versus the Thomas University Night Hawks, followed by a road trip to take on the Ave Maria University Gyrenes.

GAMES: Thomas (12-5, 7-4 TSC) vs. Southeastern (11-13, 2-9 TSC) Thursday 8 p.m. | Southeastern (11-13, 2-9 TSC) vs. Ave Maria (6-16, 4-7 TSC) Saturday 4 p.m.

COVERAGE: Thomas: Live Stats   Video   Ave Maria: Live Stats   Video

JALEN'S JUMPER: Senior guard Jalen McCallum posted his best two outings this past week since making his SEU debut on January 13^th. The IUPUI transfer scored 15 points versus Thomas on the road before putting up a team high 22 in The Furnace against St. Thomas. The 22 points scored was also the most in a single game of his collegiate career. During the past week, McCallum shot 64.7% from the field (11-17) including 75% from three point range (6-8).

PREVIOUS THOMAS: There will have only been six days passed between the Fire's last meeting with the Night Hawks and their upcoming one. In Thomasville, both teams battled back and forth for the majority of the contest. However, SEU got into foul trouble down the stretch and Thomas closed out the final three minutes of play on a 15-2 run, with seven of those points coming at the free throw line, to win 85-69. The whistles were busy in the previous contest, as both teams combined for a total of 49 personal fouls. Night Hawks guard Javoris Cooks led all scorers with 24 points while junior guard CJ Reese led the Fire with 23. SEU leads the all-time series versus Thomas 5-3.

PREVIOUS AVE MARIA: The Fire opened up Sun Conference play versus the Gyrenes back in November. In the game, SEU shot well, draining 11 three pointers, kept AMU off the boards, but failed to get the necessary stops on defense resulting in an 83-74 loss at home. The Fire defense was slashed by the scoring combo of guards Tejai Allen and Deonte' Dixon who combined for 53 points. Freshman guard Jeremy Oppenheimer led Southeastern in scoring with 16 points off the bench. The previous matchup took place before the midseason additions of McCallum and Reese.

THE NIGHT HAWKS: Thomas is a team that has quietly emerged as a contender in The Sun Conference. The Night Hawks have won six of their last seven in TSC play and currently sit fourth in the conference standings. They hang their hat on gritty defensive play, boasting the sixth lowest defensive field goal percentage in NAIA DII (.392) and averaging the 13^th most defensive rebounds per game (29.7). Cooks has become the consistent offensive threat for Thomas, averaging 22 points scored over his last three contests. He has not been held under double digits in a game all season.

THE GYRENES: Ave Maria is in the midst of a tough stretch, having lost five of their last six in conference play. Inconsistent defensive play has tripped up the Gyrenes, as they surrender conference worst averages of 87.82 points, .477 field goal percentage, and .435 from behind the arc per game. Ave Maria relies heavily on the offensive skillset of Dixon, who averages 21.6 points per game and leads NAIA DII in three point field goals made per game at 4.2. Redshirt junior guard Exor Torres is coming off an impressive 28 point outing versus Webber in which he shot 9-16 (56.3%) from the field.

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