Fire Drop Tough Contest to Cougars No. 8 Southeastern Falls in Physical Game Versus No. 19 Saint Francis

LAKELAND, Fla. –For the second straight evening, the Fire found themselves in a battle with a team from The Hoosier State. After a back-and-forth affair, the No. 8 Southeastern University men’s basketball team fell to the No. 19 University of Saint Francis Cougars 81-72.
The first half was an absolute give-and-take, as there were 19 lead changes or ties throughout the first 20 minutes of action.
Junior forward Michael Hill Jr. had a strong first half that helped fuel the Fire, scoring eight of his 10 points in the first half, as well as pulling in five rebounds during that stretch.
Saint Francis was held to just 30.6% from the field, however, 11 first-half Fire turnovers allowed the Cougars to stay within reach.
A layup from senior forward Linwood Ross as time expired put SEU ahead of USF 31-29 at the half.
Saint Francis came out more dialed in from the field in the second half, shooting 51.7% from the field throughout the second 20 minutes of play.
The Cougars opened up the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 43-33 lead over the Fire with 16:22 to go.
SEU continued to show resilience. Sophomore guard Isaiah Moody found a rhythm to bring life to the Fire, netting 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
A layup by senior point guard Ismael Celestin with 3:13 to go cut the SEU deficit to 61-60. However, the Fire went 0-4 in their following field goal attempts to finish out the contest.
Celestin finished the night with 10 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. For the second consecutive night, junior forward Dylan Causwell led SEU in scoring with 13 points and also grabbed nine boards. Ross also finished the night with 10 points.
The Fire host another high caliber opponent next Tuesday evening, as No. 13 Indiana Tech comes to The Furnace. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.