AVE MARIA, Fla.—Southeastern took advantage of some cold shooting by Ave Maria in the second half of its Sun Conference men's basketball opener but came up just short of overcoming a 19-point first half deficit in a 101-93 loss on Saturday.
The Fire (8-6, 0-1 SUN) were behind 55-43 at halftime after Ave Maria connected on eight of their 16 3-point attempts.
With 12:27 to go, the Fire trailed 77-60 but used a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to get it down to 10 at 79-69.
Makai Vassell scored five of his team-high 25 points during that span. An 11-0 run from the 7:47 mark to the 5:09 mark allowed the Fire to get it within a basket at 85-83 with
Reggie Mesidor converting a three-point play, and knocking down a 3-pointer with 5:28 left.
A 3-pointer by Nick Filchner stretched the Ave Maria lead back to six at the 4:22 mark but it went down to one 82 seconds later on a 3-pointer by Vassell and a pair of Mesidor free throws. Unfortunately, the Fire missed their next three shots and committed a turnover, allowing the Gyrenes to push the lead back to nine with 28 seconds remaining.
Derek Murphy connected on a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to make it 97-91, but the Gyrenes were a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the final minute.
Murphy finished with 18 points, draining five 3-pointers.
Anthony Duncan was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, scoring 15 points and grabbing a pair of rebounds. Mesidor added 11 points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
The Fire will play host to Keiser on Wednesday.
