Men's Basketball Competes Against the Gold Rush in the First Round of National Tournament

LAKELAND, Fla.- The 22-7 Southeastern University men's basketball team will host an NAIA Opening Round of four teams this weekend and will take on Xavier University in the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
 
The Gold Rush of Xavier University of Louisiana come into the Opening Round with an overall record of 22-6 and earned a bid to the national tournament after winning the Red River Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship.
 
As a team, the Gold Rush average 72.3 points per game with a 45.4 field goal percentage and 36.5 three-point percentage. Makye Richard has been the top performer in nearly every category with 463 total points behind a 45.1 field goal percentage and averages 16.5 points per contest. He also leads the team in steals with 49 and assists with 78 while coming in second in rebounds with 153.
 
The Fire come into the national tournament with an average of 82.2 points per game and are shooting 46.7% from the field and 36.1% from beyond the arc while also ranking first nationally in three-pointers made per game at 11.1. A majority of the Fire's success from distance has come out of the hands of Jordan Gorman who has registered a three-point percentage of 45.7 with 75 made threes. Sun Conference Player of the Year, Riley Minix, leads the Fire with 663 points, 22.9 per game, and 11.2 rebounds per game and ranks second nationally in points per 40 minutes at 31.2. Reggie Mesidor ended the regular season as the Fire's second leading scorer with 314 points while averaging only 20 minutes a game.
 
The winner of the contest will advance to the finals on Saturday against the winner of Arizona Christian and Tougaloo College.
 
To purchase tickets to the NAIA Men's Basketball Opening Round, go to https://fire.seu.edu/news/2022/3/3/mens-basketball-learns-opponents-for-naia-opening-round-lakeland-bracket.aspx.