Box Score LAKE WALES, Fla.— Southeastern rallied after a slow start in the first half to defeat #25 Warner in their first road Sun Conference matchup of the year 79-77.
CJ Reese scored the first seven points of the competition for the Fire in a back-and-forth first ten minutes of play.
After trailing 8-3 early, Southeastern used a 19-13 run, powered by seven more of Reese's 15 first-half points, to take a 22-21 lead mid-way through the half.
Warner countered with a stretch of their own, outscoring the Fire 6-1 in just over a minute to reclaim the lead.
Poor shooting by both teams kept the game close heading into the half. The Fire shot 13-34 (38.2%) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while the Royals were 13-33 (39.4%).
Melton Sanders scored 16 points for the Royals on 7-11 shooting to give Warner a one-point advantage heading into the break 34-33.
The Fire connected on their first five buckets of the second half but the Royals stayed within three by knocking down three of their first five shots.
Each team traded buckets at both ends of the court in the tight matchup between the Polk County rivals. Neither team saw more than a six-point lead over their opponent throughout the entire game.
The difference was Southeastern's ability to knock down shots in key situations late in the second half. SEU shot 58.6% from the field in the last 20 minutes, which had an instrumental impact on the overall score of the competition.
Up by three with just under two minutes left in the game, Ryan Atkins hit a huge three-pointer to give the Fire the largest lead of the night at 74-68. Atkins finished with 12 points on the night.
After Warner cut the advantage to two, clutch free throws by the Fire iced the contest and gave them the 79-77 victory.
Five Southeastern players had double-digit scoring efforts in the game. Isaac Barsh and Josiah Barsh had 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Ismael Celestin
added ten points for the Fire.
With the win, the Fire improved to 4-1 (2-0 TSC) on the season. The triumph over Warner was the first Southeastern victory over the Royals since 2014.
The Fire will be back on the court in the NAIA Division II Showcase in Kingsport, Tennessee on November 25
th. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. against the University of Northwestern Ohio.
