LAKELAND, Fla.—Riding a four-game winning streak, the Southeastern University men's basketball team begins Sun Conference play Saturday afternoon at Ave Maria.
The Fire went a perfect 4-0 in the month of December which included a pair of impressive wins during the SEU Classic against Cumberland (Tenn.) and the University of Saint Francis (Ind.).
The offense has been the key as of late with ball movement helping find the best shot. Southeastern is 51% from the field over its last four games with over 40% of their assists this season coming in the last four games. Individually,
Reggie Mesidor has averaged 20.8 points per game over the last four contests which included a career-high 35 points on 5-of-10 shooting against Saint Francis. The fifth-year player has connected on 11 3-pointers over the last four games and has 17 assists.
Ave Maria comes into Saturday's contest with an 11-3 overall record and had won three-in-a-row until a three-point loss on Saturday to Concordia Quebec in West Palm Beach. The Gyrenes are the top 3-point shooting team in the NAIA at 12.7 made per game for a total of 178. Jonathan Effertz has been successful on 44 3-pointers with a 44.9% success rate this season. Nick Filchner and Michael Kelkas are just ahead of Effertz on the team in scoring at just over 15 points per game apiece.
Despite holding the overall series lead with 21 wins in the previous 30 games, the more recent series is basically even with the Fire 7-6 dating back to the 2018-19 season. Both of the postseason games over the last five seasons have gone to the Gyrenes. The teams split last year's games with each team winning on their home floor. Mesidor connected on five 3-pointers to lead the Fire in the game at The Furnace last year with 20 points in a 75-65 win. In the game at AMU last year, the Fire went 0-for-15 in the second half from 3-point range and lost 79-76 after leading by four at halftime.
