AVE MARIA, Fla.- Southeastern's men's basketball team fell to 2-2 today after dropping their Sun Conference opener by a score of 79-76 on the road against Ave Maria University.
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In the first half, the Fire offense was dominate, going 9-17 from three-point range and posting a field goal percentage of 54%. Mykhailo Yagodin dropped 11 in 13 minutes of play after going 3-5 from distance and 4-6 from midrange.
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Eight lead changes in the first half concluded with a slight 49-45 Fire advantage heading into the locker room. With 7:27 on the clock, the Fire took their largest lead of the contest after a three-pointer by Yagodin put the Fire up 32-24 but with just over a minute before the half, the Gyrenes put up two consecutive layups to bring the score to 45-44. Another Yagodin three-point shot and a Sean Shore layup would give the away team the 49-45 lead after 20 minutes.
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The impressive three-point shooting by the Fire would quickly be flipped on its head as they would conclude the final 20 minutes going 0-15 from beyond the arc while shooting just 32% from midrange to hand the Gyrenes the momentum.
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Jalen Mull would break loose in the second period, recording 16 points after going 5-9 from the field and 6-8 from the free-throw line.
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The Gyrenes took their first lead of the period with 16 minutes remaining and would use the momentum to go up by as most as 11 points with just under 10 to play. That is when Mull would take over. The transfer threw up nine points in a minute and a half to put the Fire back on top 70-69. The lead would not hold as the Gyrenes would conclude the second period with a 6-2 run to take the 79-76 victory.
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Mull concluded the contest with a team-high 23 points and four assists while Shore led the Fire in rebounds with eight.
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The No. 17 Fire will be back in action on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. as they take on the College of Coastal Georgia in The Furnace.
