LAKELAND, Fla. – The Fire are coming off a pair of tightly contested high-caliber contests in The Furnace last weekend in the SEU invitational. The No. 8 Southeastern University men's basketball team fell short to defending NAIA Division II National Champion No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan (84-76) before being edged by the National Runners-Up No. 19 Saint Francis (81-72). SEU now faces another highly-touted program, as No. 13 Indiana Tech enters The Furnace.
GAME:
No. 8 Southeastern (9-3) vs. No. 13 Indiana Tech (9-5)
COVERAGE:
WATCH/LIVE STATS
FIRE FOCUS:
- The Fire rank sixth in NAIA DII as a team in free-throw percentage (.799).
- Junior forward Dylan Causwell was the leading scorer for SEU in both contests last week, totaling 23 and 13 points in each of the two matchups. Causwell also totaled 19 rebounds and four blocks last week.
- Senior point guard Ismael Celestin has had four or more assists in four-straight outings.
- Sophomore guard Isaiah Moody has been averaging 10.8 points and 2.6 assists coming off the bench in his last five appearances.
- This marks the last opportunity to see the Fire compete in The Furnace until January 10 versus St. Thomas.
FIRE FIRST:
- This marks the first ever meeting between Southeastern and Indiana Tech on the hardwood.
THE WARRIORS:
- After a 1-4 start, Indiana Tech has bounced back to win eight of its last nine games.
- The Warriors rank eighth in NAIA DII in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.474).
- As a team, Indiana Tech is shooting (.489), which ranks 19th in the country.
- Goshen transfer Logan Primerano is averaging 16.71 points per game and shooting .497 from the field. Primerano scored 27 versus the Fire last year as a Maple Leaf.
- Senior forward Darren Groves is averaging a double-double per game (13.2 points, 10.5 rebounds).
TALE OF THE TAPE:
SEU
Points per Game: 81.55
Opponents Points per Game: 75.2
Field Goal %: .485
3PT %: .361
FT%: .799
Rebounds per Game: 35.9
Turnovers per Game: 14.36
Individual PPG Leader:
Josiah Barsh (17.4)
Individual Rebounds per Game Leader:
Dylan Causwell (7.8)
Individual Assists per Game Leader:
Ismael Celestin (3.55)
Individual Blocks per Game Leader:
Dylan Causwell (.90)
ITU
Points per Game: 85
Opponents Points per Game: 52.5
Field Goal %: .489
3PT %: .390
FT%: .797
Rebounds per Game: 37.57
Turnovers per Game: 11
Individual PPG Leader: Logan Primerano (16.71)
Individual Rebounds per Game Leader: Darren Groves (10.46)
Individual Assists per Game Leader: Joel Wincowski (3.86)
Individual Blocks per Game Leader: Darren Groves (1.39)
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