Men's Basketball | 2/15/2018 8:00:00 AM
LAKELAND, Fla.—After clinching a spot in the Sun Conference Tournament with a win against Coastal Georgia last week, the Fire men's basketball team will look to secure a high seed in the tourney as they take on Florida Memorial and St. Thomas to close out the regular season.
Southeastern:
The Fire are coming off of a disappointing road loss to Thomas University, in which Southeastern shot a mere 39.3 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from three in the 62-58 defeat.
Despite the lackluster performance, Southeastern finds itself in the third spot in TSC play heading into the last two competitions of the regular season. The Fire have won four of their past six games, giving them a 9-7 record against league opponents.
CJ Reese and
Josiah Barsh have stepped up during conference play, with Reese averaging nearly two more points per game than in non-conference matchups. All six of the point guard's 20-point games have come against Sun Conference teams. Barsh has recorded his top four scoring games of the year in TSC battles, as well, including a career-high 32 versus Webber.
Game 1:
(RV) Southeastern (17-8, 9-7 TSC) @ Florida Memorial (14-9, 8-8 TSC)
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla.
Date: February 15
th
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Coverage: seufire.com/watch
Florida Memorial:
On Thursday, the Fire will travel to Miami Gardens to take on Florida Memorial, who enters the contest at 14-9 overall. The Lions have won their last three games, the last of which was a 15-point thrashing of Warner.
Davon Williams is a player to watch on Florida Memorial's roster. The Washington, D.C. native averages 16.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per competition, both team-highs, while shooting 47.0 percent from the field. Williams hasn't been held under 11 points in conference play since the opener against St. Thomas on November 18
th.
Earlier this season, the Lions took a close contest in the Furnace 83-82 over the Fire. Florida Memorial rallied from an 11-point deficit with 2:39 remaining as Williams drilled a shot in the final seven seconds to put the Lions up. Senior
Ryan Atkins collected 31 points on 11-18 shooting on the night, but Southeastern lost the thriller by one.
Southeastern has a 9-7 record all-time against Florida Memorial and has outscored the Lions 1,248-1,150 in the 16 games. Each of the last five matchups has been decided by a combined 12 points with FMU taking the four most recent meetings.
Game 2:
(RV) Southeastern (17-8, 9-7 TSC) vs. #9 St. Thomas (21-6, 14-2 TSC)
Location: The Furnace- Lakeland, Fla.
Date: February 17
th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Coverage: seufire.com/watch
St. Thomas:
Following their road matchup with FMU, the Fire will return home for senior day against St. Thomas University.
The Bobcats sit atop the Sun Conference standings with a 21-6 (14-2 TSC) record during the 2017-2018 campaign. STU is trending upward, as the number nine team in the nation has won ten of its last 11 Sun Conference games and 12 of the past 13 overall.
???????Raheem Bowman is a major reason for the success St. Thomas has had on both sides of the ball. The 6'11'' senior, who leads the Bobcats in points, rebounds and blocks, averages a double-double (15.0 points and 12.6 rebounds). Bowman has recorded 14 double-doubles, which ranks seventh in the country.
The Fire dropped an 86-81 road contest to the Bobcats when the two teams met in January. In the game, Bowman controlled the glass, grabbing 13 boards to go with his 26 points. Atkins tallied 25 in the matchup, while Barsh added 18.
St. Thomas leads the all-time series between the two schools 13-5, as the Bobcats have taken the last four. Southeastern has struggled to defeat the Bobcats in the Furnace as of late. The Fire's most recent home win versus STU came on January 29
th, 2014 in an 83-75 victory.
Be sure to follow @SEUFireMBB on Twitter for in-game updates.
