Fire Earn Resilient Road Win Over Night Hawks in Overtime

No. 8 Southeastern Edges Receiving Votes Thomas in Sun Conference Thriller
THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The No. 8 Southeastern University men’s basketball team resiliently battled to earn a thrilling 98-97 road Sun Conference win over the receiving votes Thomas University Night Hawks in overtime. With the win, the Fire improved to 13-3 on the season.
The Night Hawks held the slight edge over the Fire throughout the first half, leading SEU 41-39 at the intermission. Junior guard Jeremy Oppenheimer led Southeastern with 10 points through the first 20 minutes of action and finished the night with 20.
In the second half, Thomas grew its lead to as many as 10 over Southeastern.
However, the Fire responded to the adversity by fighting their way back into the contest.
Senior point guard Ismael Celestin and sophomore guard Isaiah Moody each totaled 15 points in the second half/overtime period.
A jumper by Celestin gave the Fire the lead 71-68 with under six minutes remaining in regulation.
Celestin continued to be a difference-maker for SEU, providing a clutch three-point play with 20.6 seconds to go in the game that tied things up with TU 85-85 and ultimately forced bonus basketball.
The Fire and the Night Hawks exchanged blows in the overtime period. However, it was SEU who landed the final jab. A reverse layup by Moody with 12.6 seconds to go in overtime put the Fire ahead 96-94. A subsequent missed shot by Thomas, foul on the Night Hawks, and free throws made by Southeastern sealed the victory.
The Fire look to earn another Sun Conference road win in The Peach State, as they travel to Brunswick to take on the College of Coastal Georgia on Saturday at 4 p.m.