WEST POINT, Ga.—Shooting struggles in the second half kept Southeastern at bay in a 66-58 loss at Poin on Saturday.
During the second half, the Fire were just 9-of-30 from the field and only made one 3-pointer on 11 attempts. Point was 12-of-31 from the field and outscored the Fire 34-28 in the second 20 minutes.
Derek Murphy led Southeastern (2-3) with 17 points, scoring five on the first two possessions of the game to force a quick timeout by the Skyhawks (5-1). Point then responded with a 9-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to take a 9-7 lead.
Back-to-back baskets by
Joshua Blazquez gave the Fire the lead back at 18-14 with 10:23 left to force another timeout. Following a 3-pointer by Murphy and a steal by
Ja'Quay Randolph that led to an
Amir Brikat dunk gave SEU a 23-16 lead with 8:31 left.
A 12-0 run by the Skyhawks spanning 4:28 and saw the Fire go 0-of-5 from the field with three turnovers gave the hosts a 28-23 lead with 3:42 left in the half and led 32-30 at the intermission.
The second half didn't start nearly as quick as the first did with the Fire scoring just four points in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second and fell behind seven at 42-35 with 16:24 left.
A pair of
Anthony Duncan free throws with 13:01 left made it a one-possession game at 45-42, then did so again after battling back from a nine-point deficit, with 3:31 to go on a 3-pointer by Murphy to make it 60-57, but were unable to tie or take the lead.
Sean Shore added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Fire will travel to Nova Southeastern for an exhibition on Wednesday.
