LAKELAND, Fla.- The No. 20 Southeastern University men's basketball team continued their hot streak through Sun Conference play. The Fire defeated the Thomas University Night Hawks 75-60 in The Furnace Thursday night to win their sixth-straight TSC contest.
The Night Hawks successfully guarded the perimeter in the first half, holding the Fire to just 25% (2-8) from three-point range.
A balanced effort from the Fire kept SEU in front of the Night Hawks for much of the half, as six different Southeastern players had five or more points through the first 20 minutes of action.
After, TU went on a 10-2 run mid-way through the first half to take a 25-23 lead over SEU with 6:33 to go, the Fire responded by closing out the half on a 14-4 run to take a 37-29 lead over the Night Hawks into the locker room.
Freshman forward
Riley Minix dominated the boards in the first half for Southeastern, nabbing nine of his 13 rebounds during that stretch.
The Fire moved the ball with much more fluidity in the second half and Minix was one of the main beneficiaries of this. The Vero Beach native drilled all four of his three pointers made in the second 20 minutes of action, finishing with a team-best 20 points and recording his fourth double-double of the season and his third in his last five games played.
"Stats don't really mean much to me, it's about if we win," shared Minix. "My teammates put their trust in me and I hit the open shots. I feel like I really owe it all to them."
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SEU went on a 12-0 run from the 15:12 to 12:11 mark to grow its lead over TU to 51-37. The Night Hawks only cut the deficit to as low as eight from that point on.
Senior point guard
Jeremy Oppenheimer finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Junior forward
Karl Jeanty finished with 11 points to go along with five boards.
Junior
Isaiah Moody contributed 11 points off the bench, which included a pair of highlight-worthy dunks.
Southeastern outscored Thomas 46-21 in the paint and deposited 21 points of the Night Hawks' 14 turnovers.
"When we got some stops and were able to run the ball of turnovers that really gave us a spark and helped us move the ball offensively," commented SEU head coach
Kevin Lubbers.
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The Fire welcome the College of Coastal Georgia Mariners to The Furnace this Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
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