SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—The Southeastern men's basketball team seems to have it figured out.
The Fire got hot at the right time, defeating the No. 4, No. 1, and No. 2 teams in The Sun Conference to win the league's tournament for the first time in program history, and earn a trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship tournament for the second time.
After seeing six games in the month of January slip away by a total of 19 points, the Fire have learned how to close out contests and win the big game. During the month of February, Southeastern held its eight opponents to an average of 74.4 points per game.
The Fire have also had their best season at the free throw line since joining the NAIA in 2009. This season, the team is 74.4% at the charity stripe.
Over the last five games, there have been four different players that have led the team in scoring, making the Fire as a No. 6 seed a tough out in the 32-team single-elimination tournament.
Ryan Atkins has been the team's leading scorer 19 times this season, including The Sun Conference championship game, but
CJ Reese was the top scorer against St. Thomas in the semifinal.
Josiah Barsh had a team-best 28 against Florida Memorial, and
Grant Bryant was at the top of the stat sheet against St. Thomas and Warner.
Warner Pacific enters the matchup with a 23-9 record in the always-tough Cascade Collegiate Conference, coming up short to the College of Idaho, a No. 1 seed, 75-73 in the CCC Tournament title game.
The Knights rank ninth in NAIA Division II in field goal percentage, just shy of 50%. Xavier Cannefax is the key to the offense, averaging 18.7 points per game, and has dished out 116 assists this season, and has shot 51.2% from the field. De'Jon Bowman is a force inside, averaging almost 10 rebounds per game, to go along with 11 points per game, and 18 blocked shots.
The game can be viewed on the
NAIA Network Thursday at 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time. Fans on the SEU campus can watch the game at Portico or in The Furnace café.
