The Fire welcomed to The Furnace the top team in the Sun Conference, the Ave Maria Gyrenes, who were also the second highest scoring offense in the NAIA at 95.9 points per game.
A monster offensive effort helped the Fire keep pace with the high-scoring guests and come away with a 93-77 win Saturday afternoon.
To begin, the Gyrenes took a trip to the free throw within the first 15 seconds of the game, and then proceeded to hit three 3-pointers in the next four possessions giving Ave Maria a 10-3 lead with the Fire's only scorer being
Sean Shore. Shore had 17 points in the contest claiming a double-double with ten rebounds. He was one of five double-digit scorers for Southeastern.
Anthony Duncan rejected a layup which turned into a fast break layup opportunity for Shore giving the Fire their first lead of the game at 11-10 with 15:15 left in the first half. Duncan would have 13 points on a perfect six of six shooting, adding five incredible blocks and eight total rebounds. However, the Gyrenes responded quickly with a three-pointer from Jonathan Effertz, putting the away team ahead 14-13. Effertz ended with six points.
Reggie Mesidor put the Fire on top with a three of his own, launching the Fire into the lead at 16-14. Mesidor shot 6-11 from beyond the arc, finishing with a team high 22 points.
After the Mesidor three, the Fire never looked back. Going on a run of 12 unanswered points and then again a run of eight unanswered points, and several smaller runs as well as 60 percent shooting from the field and forcing eight turnovers bolstered the Fire to a huge 50-32 lead at halftime.
The Fire used the huge lead to spur them into even more offensive action in the second half, getting up by as much as 28 with 12:32 left.
The Gyrenes never gave up, drawing it to within 13 at the 3:07 mark thanks to a jumper from Jaylen White who finished the night with 15 points. That was as close as the Gyrenes got, Southeastern closed out the end of the game outscoring Ave Maria by three and holding the offense that averages nearly 96 points per game to 77, scoring a massive victory 93-77 and advancing to 12-9 on the season and 4-4 in Sun Conference play.
Makai Vassell and
Joshua Blazquez joined the double digit scoring category with 18 and 13. Michael Klekas was the leading scorer for the Gyrenes with 20 in total.
The Fire travel to Keiser University on February 7 to avenge an early season home loss, that game will tip off at 7:30 p.m.
