Box Score WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Fire controlled the day for 32 minutes, but could not hold on. Trailing by 18 points with 12:54 remaining, Keiser University stormed back with a 23-3 run in the final eight minutes and clipped Southeastern University, 76-73, in Sun Conference men's basketball action today.
With a seven-point advantage at 9:08 in the first half, SEU went on one of its largest runs of the year at 18-0, including five-straight treys, for a 39-14 lead with 2:46 left in the first half. Keiser, though, flipped the script in three parts with an early 10-0 spurt, then an 11-2 second run and completed the home comeback with a 16-0 run for a 68-66 lead at 3:35. Joshua Blazquez tied it, 68-68, on a jumper five seconds later, but the Seahawks kept the momentum with seven more points and held on in the final seconds for the win.
Keiser (19-4/9-2 Sun Conference) completed the season sweep after they won a close 76-71 game in Lakeland on January 8 over SEU (11-14/7-6 Sun Conference).
SEU built its big first-half lead by making 17-of-30 field goals (56.7%) and 10 of its 18 tries from 3-point range. The tides turned in the second half for the Fire as they made only 10-of-29 shots (34%) in the final 20 minutes. Keiser was the exact opposite as it went from 6-of-30 in the first half to 22-of-36 in the second.
Kyonte Thomas drained 6-of-10 from long range for a team-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a blocked shot. Diego Platas, who was hot early with a trio of treys in the game's first five minutes, added 13 points and six boards. Blazquez was the third double-figure starter with 10 points, three assists, and three caroms. With his final make, Blazquez eclipsed the 1000 point mark for his career.
Off the bench, Nelson Reynolds hit 7 of his 15 tries, three of them triples, for 17 points. Nathan Mikkelson contributed nine rebounds and five points and Dylan Labuhn had a 3-pointer.
For Keiser, Calvin Sirmans was a problem for SEU just as he was in the first game, scoring 28 points.
SEU will look to bounce back on Wednesday when they travel to Srasota to play at New College of Florida. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
