LAKELAND, Fla.—The No. 21 Southeastern University men's basketball team got back on track this past week, winning games against the Warner Royals and Webber International Warriors. The Fire (19-7, 12-3 TSC) now shift their focus to this week where they'll travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. on Thursday to play No. 6 Keiser with first place in the conference on the line, before hosting Johnson and Wales in The Furnace on Saturday.
The Fire had a flare for the dramatic in both victories last week. Against Warner, freshman Riley Minix sank a three with 33 seconds left in the game to give the Fire a 72-71 win to end his team's two-game slide. Dylan Patrick had his best game of the season in this one, scoring 18 points while shooting a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. Junior Karl Jeanty posted his fifth double-double of the season in the winning-effort and notched his sixth of the year in the following game against Webber.
The Fire saw their 22-point lead against Webber dwindle to just four with a little over two minutes left to play, but senior Jeremy Oppenheimer drilled a 3-PT field goal from the top of the arc to give Southeastern a 79-72 advantage. Oppenheimer continuously stepped up in this one scoring 20 points and hauling in a career-high 16 rebounds. Minix had another strong outing, totaling 21 points and five rebounds.
Heading into play this week, the Fire are still among the top teams in the NAIA in rebounds, averaging 44.3 per contest, including 13.4 offensive rebounds and 30.9 defensive rebounds. The Fire also take advantage of free-throw opportunities, converting on 76.1% of their attempts, good for 10th among NAIA teams. Southeastern dropped its scoring margin to 9.7, still good for 24th in the nation.
When the Fire travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. on Thursday they'll face a No. 6 Keiser team that's coming off the heels of an 84-64 win over Thomas University. Keiser (20-4, 12-2 TSC) will be looking to hold off the Fire from taking their first-place spot in the conference. The Seahawks are led by senior forward Mark Gordon. Gordon has been on a tear all season, averaging 28.2 PPG which ranks him second in the NAIA. Keiser prides itself on defense the rim as they lead all NAIA teams in blocks with 148 and is seventh in steals per game with 10.4. Southeastern is looking for the season sweep against Keiser, something that hasn't been done since started playing annually in 2014-15. They won 83-74 when the Seahawks visited Lakeland, Fla. earlier this year, with Oppenheimer leading the way with 22 points and six rebounds. Isaiah Moody came off the bench to chip in 13 points and two rebounds. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Southeastern returns home on Saturday to host the Johnson & Wales Wildcats. The Wildcats enter play this week coming off a tough 96-88 overtime loss against Coastal Georgia, and hold a 7-15 overall record, going 3-11 in conference play. Freshman guard Alex Doane has put together a nice season to start his collegiate career. He leads his team in PPG (15.0) and APG (3.11). Additionally, his 3.5 3-PT field goals per game ranks him sixth in the country in that category. Minix led the Fire with 25 points in the last meeting between these squads, an 86-58 victory for the Fire. Southeastern had five players reach double digits in scoring in that matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
