LAKELAND, Fla. – For the first time in three seasons, the RV Southeastern University men's basketball team is positioned to make some noise in postseason play. The fifth-seeded Fire travel to Lake Wales on Thursday evening to take on the fourth-seeded RV Warner University Royals in The Sun Conference Tournament Quarterfinal.
GAME: RV Warner (19-11, 10-8 TSC) vs. RV Southeastern (18-9, 10-8 TSC) Thursday 7:00 p.m.
COVERAGE: Watch/Live Stats
PREVIOUS MATCHUPS: The Fire and the Royals split the regular season series 1-1, with each team earning a win on the opponent's home court. SEU shot 58.6% from the field in the second half of the first meeting. Senior guard
CJ Reese led SEU with 26 points in the 79-77 Southeastern win. The Fire fell short in a 104-102 shootout to the Royals in The Furnace on January 19. Reese was the leading offensive threat for Southeastern in that meeting as well, totaling 28 points. The Fire trail the all-time series to the Royals 15-9.
DOWN TO THE WIRE: The Fire are used to high pressure situations, having played in a barrage of tightly contested games. SEU holds an average margin of defeat of just 4.6 points, having not lost a contest by more than eight points on the season.
SPREAD THE FLAME: On any given night, a different SEU player steps up to take on the role of key offensive contributor. The Fire have had four different players lead the team in scoring over their last five contests. Junior guard
Josiah Barsh is averaging 14.2 points per game during that stretch, while senior guard
Ryan Atkins remains the team's leading scorer, averaging 21.9 per outing.
THE ROYALS: Warner enters the TSC postseason having won two of its last three, including an 81-79 OT win in West Palm Beach over No. 19 Keiser. The Royals are looking to earn their third straight TSC Tournament title. They will rely on the likes of senior guard Melton Saunders, who is fresh off scoring a career high 39 points versus Johnson & Wales on Senior Night. Saunders is averaging a team best 22.1 points per game and deposited totals of 27 and 29 versus SEU earlier this season.
Be sure to follow @SEUFireMBB on Twitter for all of the latest updates.
