LAKELAND, Fla.—In a game the Fire led by as many as 16, Southeastern was a 77-75 winner in its season opener in the Sun vs. Southern States Crossover Challenge against No. 22 Mobile.
Southeastern could do little wrong in the opening 20 minutes, leading 47-31 at halftime after shooting 56% from the field and limiting the Rams (2-1) to 27% from the field with nine of their points coming on free throws.
"It was a total team effort," said coach
Randy Lee of the first half. "The guys were locked in defensively and held a talented Mobile team down with a lot of contested shots and keeping them off the glass."
Joshua Blazquez scored five straight points with a jumper at the 5:37 mark and a 3-pointer off a
Montez Leath steal at the 5:03 mark to give the Fire their first double-digit lead at 36-25. Blazquez finished with a team-high 18 points, as did
Makai Vassell. Blazquez also added four assists.
A 7-0 run by the Fire with another 3-pointer by Blazquez gave the Fire a 43-27 lead.
Mobile cut the deficit to single digits with a 10-0 run spanning just 99 seconds to get within three at 53-50 with 14:25 to go. The Rams made it a one-point game with 10:55 left but
Derek Murphy answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession and
Anthony Duncan scored on a layup after a missed 3-pointer to push the advantage back to six with 9:53 left.
The Rams had four possessions trailing by two from the 7:51 mark to the 5:14 mark of the second, but went 0-for-3 from the field and committed a turnover. At the end of the game, Damariee Jones hit a layup with 12 seconds to go and was fouled to cut the deficit to two, but missed the free throw. After a split pair of free throws by Vassell, the Rams were unable to get a game tying shot off at the end.
"Just sticking with what we do and keeping our composure and getting to the free throw line was the key for us at the end," said Lee.
Duncan and Murphy were both in double figures in their SEU debuts with 14 points each. Duncan added a team-high eight rebounds.
The Fire will take on Faulkner tomorrow at 5 p.m. in their second game of the challenge.
