LAKELAND, Fla. – After closing out the non-conference portion of its season in South Dakota, the Southeastern men's basketball team will kick off play in 2017 by hosting a pair of Sun Conference opponents this week. The Fire dropped both their games in the Mike Miller Classic by single digits to Dakota State University and No. 12 Dakota Wesleyan University. SEU will look to earn its first conference victories of the season as both Webber International University and Johnson & Wales University will enter The Furnace.
GAMES: Southeastern (9-7) vs. Webber International (6-9) Thursday 7 p.m.| Southeastern (9-7) vs. Johnson & Wales (6-8) Saturday 7 p.m.
COVERAGE: Webber:
Video Live Stats J&W:
Video Live Stats
REESE'S RESPECT: Junior guard C.J. Reese has made his presence felt in a mighty way through the early stages of his SEU career. In his first seven games played, the Lee University transfer is averaging a team leading 24.3 points per game, has totaled 34 assists, and is shooting 52.8 percent from the field. Reese's play earned him Sun Conference Player of the Week honors two weeks ago.
PREVIOUSLY WEBBER: The Fire dropped both regular season meetings to the Warriors last season. In both games, SEU jumped out to early leads thanks to fast starts, however, Webber shot a combined 52.2% from the field and outscored the Fire 100-70 in the second half of both contests. Since joining the NAIA in 2009, Southeastern is tied with Webber in the all-time series 7-7, with SEU having won four of the last six.
PREVIOUSLY JOHNSON & WALES: The Wildcats defeated the Fire in both regular season meetings last season. The first contest was a 35 point defeat on the road while the second game was a much closer affair, in which SEU led 47-44 at the half, but were unable to close things out and fell 88-77. Since joining the NAIA in 2009, the Fire lead the all-time series versus the Wildcats 8-7.
THE WARRIORS: After starting 2-7 in countable games this season, Webber International has been playing better basketball. The Warriors have rattled off three straight wins including a 92-80 defeat of No. 7 Taylor University, a team the Fire also defeated. Webber will be without forward Dewaine Lyals, who averaged 29.5 points per game versus SEU last season. This year's squad is led by senior forward Daniel Coffey. The Jensen Beach native is averaging a team best 18.9 points per game and is shooting 60.5 percent from the floor in his last four games. Webber is coached by John Shoffner, who is in his 11
th season as head coach of the Warriors.
THE WILDCATS: After starting a promising 4-1, the Wildcats have lost seven of their last nine including most recently, a 90-84 overtime loss to Edward Waters College. Johnson & Wales is led by senior forward Ricardo Suarez, who has been the leading scorer for the Wildcats the previous two seasons. This season, Suarez is averaging 14.2 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. He is coming off posting a 31 point outing versus Edward Waters. The Wildcats are coached by David Graham, who is in his 18
th season as head coach for the program.
