Men's Basketball Concludes 2021 Calendar Year with Win over Spring Arbor

Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.- In the last game of a long two-week stretch for the Southeastern University men's basketball team, the Fire defeated the Spring Arbor University Cougars by a score of 78-57 to move to 13-3 on the season.
 
Devon Ford recorded the first four of the Fire's seven points of the contest but the Cougars would record the next six points to go up 12-7 over the Fire with 13:35 on the clock. The Fire battled back and managed to take back the 21-17 lead after Riley Minix went 2-2 from the line and followed it up with a steal and a layup with just over five minutes left to play. The four consecutive points by Minix was the beginning of a 12 point run by the Fire which would give them the 27-17 lead after back-to-back extra point shots by Reggie Messidor and Jordan Gorman. The Fire would end the half with their largest lead of the contest after a Joshua Blazquez three pointer secured the 32-21 lead going into the locker room. Collectively, the Fire shot 37.9% from the field in the first 20 minutes and went 6-10 from the line.
 
The Fire continued to press the gas in the second half as they opened the half with an 11 point run to advance their lead to 20 over the Cougars. Mykhailo Yagodin helped advance that lead with two consecutive baskets from beyond the arc within a minute and a half while Minix registered a double-double with 8:37 left in regulation after grabbing his 10th board of the day. The Fire would go on to collect their largest lead of the contest with just over a minute left as a Blazquez layup put the Fire up by 23 as SEU would go on to round out the 2021 season with a 78-57 victory.
 
Despite the slow first half start, the home team would finish the contest with a 43.9 field goal percentage and a 10-16 effort from the free throw line.
 
Minix led the team with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and a 4-4 effort from the line while Messidor collected 13 points off the bench within 20 minutes of play. Ford also had a strong outing with nine points and eight rebounds in only 18 minutes. Matticks ended his day with a team leading seven assists.
 
The men's season will come to a pause for the holidays and will resume on January 6^th in Miami Gardens as they take on Florida Memorial.