LAKE WALES, Fla.—The Southeastern University men's basketball team earned a tough 89-82 win on the road against No. 18 Warner. Southeastern is now at 8-3 on the year with a 4-1 record in conference play thus far.
It was neck and neck throughout the first half with neither team getting out to a large advantage. A quick 4-0 run by the Fire to close the half was the difference as that gave them a 43-40 lead heading into the locker room. Freshman Riley Minix was huge off the bench for Southeastern as he sparked them with ten points and five rebounds in the first half.
As a team Southeastern shot 53.1% from the field and 87.5% from the free-throw line. The Fire found success when they attacked the rim, outscoring the Royals 28-14 in points in the paint.
The Fire carried their momentum from the end of the first half into the start of the second, stretching their lead to 54-44 in just over three minutes of play. Junior Isaiah Moody and senior Devon Ford were key in the run. Ford laid in an assist from Moody and hit a mid-range jumper on the Fire's next possession. Moody had another assist to Blake Morrow and followed that with a steal that he converted into two more points for Southeastern.
Warner came back to tie the game at 65 with 9:22 remaining in the game but the Fire responded. Southeastern went on a 15-5 run that gave them another ten-point lead with 2:55 remaining, which was capped off by a Reggie Mesidor three. The Fire used the free-throw line to finish the game, making 7-8 attempts. Morrow contributed six of those and ended his night 8-8 from the line that helped him reach the 20-point mark.
Junior Karl Jeanty was consistent all afternoon for the Fire totaling 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Senior Jeremy Oppenheimer gave his team important buckets when they needed them and finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
The Fire face another tough task in their next game when they host No. 15 University of Saint Francis on December 13th at 2:00 pm.
