Men's Basketball Set to Host SEU Classic

LAKELAND, Fla.- Southeastern will play host to three other NAIA institutions this weekend as No. 10 Florida College, Bethel University, and Truett McConnell University all travel to Lakeland for the SEU Classic.
 
The classic will begin on Friday with a 5:30 p.m. contest between Florida College and Truett McConnell and will be followed by the Fire and the Pilots at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Pilots and the Falcons will face off in the 5:30 p.m. contest with Southeastern and Truett McConnell rounding out the four-team tournament with a 7:30 p.m. contest.
 
The Fire (6-6) are coming off a 98-52 victory over Johnson University-Florida last weekend and are averaging 78.8 points per game. From the field, the Fire have posted a .465 field goal percentage and a .323 three-point percentage. Riley Minix has continued his dominating career, posting an average of 28 points per game and 16.4 rebounds per game and sits at sixth nationally in points per 40 minutes with 34.2. The senior is currently shooting .603 from the field. Distance shooting has been led by Reggie Mesidor and Riley Matticks with Mesidor holding a team-leading 28 three-point shots and Matticks leading the Fire with a .444 three-point percentage. Sean Shore averages nearly a double-double with 12.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest while Jalan Mull leads in both assists (47) and steals (18).
 
The No. 10 ranked Falcons (12-1) will come into the classic holding a seven-game win streak with their only loss of the season coming against No. 6 Southwestern College by a score of 90-78. The Falcon offense currently sits third nationally in points (1,147) and 14^th in points per game (88.2) while their defense comes in ranked seventh nationally in both opponents' field goal percentage and opponents' three-point percentage. The squad has shot 50.4% from the field and 39.6% from three-point range thus far and has been led by Matt Simpson's 17.2 points per game and .446 field goal percentage. Simpson also leads the Falcons in rebounds with 73 while Anthony Bittar leads in both assists with 65 and steals with 20.
 
The Pilots hold a 9-3 overall record and most recently came out on the winning side against Governors State (Ill.) by a score of 93-70. All three of the Pilots' losses this season have come against NAIA Top 25 ranked programs including No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 14 Marian, and No. 17 William Penn. Collectively, the Pilots average 85.3 points per game behind a field goal percentage of 48.2% and three-point percentage of 36.4%. Senior Drew Lutz ranks fourth nationally in total points with 275 and eighth nationally in points per game at 22.9. His point total has been largely led by his execution at the free throw line as his 70-78 effort (89.7%) ranks fourth in the NAIA. Alonas Peciulis and Nathan Aerts have led the defensive charge with Peciulius averaging 6.5 rebounds per game and Aerts averaging 6.3 per game.
 
The final team of the SEU Classic, the Truett McConnell Bears, will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak as they currently hold a 4-7 record after a tough recent stretch. Averaging 71.7 points per game, the Bears are shooting 44% from midrange and 31% from distance with Ej Smith leading the offense with 12.8 points per game. Kafunba Toure and Enocka Franky head the Bears' rebounding with 73 and 71 respectively.
 
To purchase tickets to the SEU Classic, go to https://southeastern.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx.