LAKELAND, Fla.—The Southeastern University men's basketball team is set to play their first game in 20 days on Wednesday when they host St. Thomas at 6:00 pm. The Fire then host Truett-McConnell and Freed-Hardeman in the SEU Invitational on December 11
th and 12
th. SEU plays Truett-McConnell on Friday at 4:00 pm before a matchup with Freed-Hardeman on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
Last time out on November 19
th the Fire (5-1, 2-1 TSC) lost a tight game to the Keiser Seahawks in West Palm Beach. After trailing by as much as 16 points in the first half, Southeastern tied the game at 70 before Keiser hit two free-throws with seconds left on the clock to win the game.
Sophomore
Riley Minix led the team in scoring and rebounds with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow sophomore
Reggie Mesidor scored 14 points while junior
Riley Matticks chipped in with 12 points.
As a team Southeastern shot 42.4% from the field and made just four of their 20 3-PT attempts, their lowest total of the season.
Entering play this week the Fire are ranked in the top ten in both defensive rebounds per game (33.8) and defensive field goal percentage (36.5%). On offense, the Fire are shooting 47.6% from the field and 39.9% from beyond the arc, good for 22
nd in the nation.
Individually, Minix leads the team in points (22.3), rebounds (12.2), steals (1.5), and blocks (1.2) per game. Matticks is the team leader in assists per game with 3.8 and Mesidor is second on the team in scoring with 14.7 PPG.
St. Thomas enters play this week with a 3-3 overall record, with a 2-2 record against conference opponents. Before travelling to Lakeland on Wednesday they'll host Johnson University on Monday December 7
th. The Bobcats attack the ball on both sides of the floor, ranking tenth in the NAIA in offensive rebounds per game with 15, and 17
th in steals per game with ten. Senior forwards Quinterious Jones and Dwayne Russell are the team leaders in scoring with Jones averaging 15.3 points per game while Russell averages 12.4.
The last time these two programs met was in the Sun Conference championship game where SEU topped the Bobcats 78-73 in overtime. Minix led all scorers with 31 points while
Isaiah Moody provided a spark off the bench with nine points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Truett-McConnell travels to Lakeland with a 4-2 record at this point in the season. Winners of two straight, the Bears are led by junior forward Enocka Franky who is leading his team in PPG (15.8), RPG (9.8), and BPG (1.5). The Bears are shooting 45.3% from the field, including 27.1% from 3-PT range. The Fire won the lone matchup in the history between these two programs in 2011 by a score of 71-53.
The Freed-Hardeman Lions have started their season undefeated with a 5-0 record. They are coming off a 77-73 win over Cumberland University where they were led by senior John Musselwhite who tallied 23 points and seven rebounds. Musselwhite is the team leader in rebounds with 11.3 per game. Senior guard Kortland Martin leads Freed-Hardeman in other statistical categories with 16 PPG, eight assists per game, and two steals per game. This will be the first time these two teams have met in their history.
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