LAKELAND, Fla.—The Southeastern University men's basketball team improved its record to 7-2 on the season, going 2-1 last week. Up next for the Fire are two conference opponents as they host Webber International on Thursday and head to Lake Wales on Saturday for a date with No. 18 Warner.
The Fire split their games in the NAIA Division II Showcase in Tennessee defeating Brescia University 105-72 but dropping their game against No. 11 Washington Adventist 76-61.
Southeastern dominated in its first two games last week against Our Lady of the Lake University and Brescia University, outscoring them 215-136. The Fire shot over 50% from the field and made their opponents uncomfortable as they forced 18 turnovers in both of those games.
The Fire never quite got it going on offense against Washington Adventist, only shooting 29.2% from the field. The defense however continued to trouble its opponent, as they forced the Shock into 26 turnovers and stole the ball 13 times.
Seniors Blake Morrow and Jeremy Oppenheimer continued their strong starts to the season. Morrow averaged 19.3 PPG in three games last week and Oppenheimer filled the stat sheet averaging 13 PPG, 5 RPG, and 4 APG. Oppenheimer also recorded five steals and two blocks on the week.
Freshman Riley Minix had the best game of his career against Brescia. He totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 60% from the field.
Collectively, the Fire are among the top defensive teams in Division II NAIA as they are ranked 4th in field goal percentage defense (39%) and 40th in scoring defense per game (73.11). Southeastern takes advantage of their solid defense as they are in the top ten in total rebounds per game (46.1) and defensive rebounds per game (32.4).
The Fire host a Webber International team on Thursday that currently sits at 3-6 on the season, including a 1-2 record in TSC play. Southeastern has the edge over the Warriors as of late, going 5-1 over the past three seasons including a season sweep a year ago. The Warriors have gone 3-2 since starting the year with four losses. Junior Tommie Luke is the key for Webber's success. Through nine games this season he is averaging 21.3 PPG and is shooting 50% from the field. In last year's first meeting between these squads, Luke scored 34 points in a 100-93 loss for the Warriors.
Southeastern travels to face a No. 18 Warner team that has a 10-1 record to begin the season, including a 2-1 record in conference play. The Royals are riding a three game win-streak after defeating Reinhardt 82-66 in their last contest. The Fire are looking to get even with Warner as they are 3-4 against the Royals over the last three seasons. Senior guard Maxwell Benoit is the player to watch for the Royals. He is averaging 21 PPG this season and has scored over 25 points on four occasions.
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