No. 8 Southeastern Falls Short in Battle with No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan
LAKELAND, Fla. – The first of four highly-touted NAIA Division II men’s basketball games played in The Furnace this weekend did not disappoint. The No. 8 Southeastern University men’s basketball team took the No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats to the brink. However, the Fire feel short in the contest to the defending NAIA Division II National Champions 84-76.
SEU bounced back from an early 7-0 deficit to IWU, outscoring the Wildcats 16-8 to take a 16-15 lead with 12:32 to go.
The Fire grew their first-half lead to as many as eight, leading the Wildcats 29-21 with 7:52 to go.
Junior forward Dylan Causwell set the tone for a solid night for himself, totaling 11 of his 23 team-high points in the first half.
Causwell also hauled in 10 rebounds on the night for his third double-double of the season.
Dynamic shooting allowed the Wildcats to regain the advantage before the half. IWU shot 53.8% from behind the arc in the first half, hitting seven three pointers. Two of those long-range shots came from Kyle Mangus, who totaled 19 of his 23 points in the first minute of play.
A 14-6 run to end the first half allowed Indiana Wesleyan to take a 43-40 lead at halftime. The Fire were a perfect 9-9 at the free-throw line in the first half.
With both teams shooting just a combined 3-16 from three-point range in the second half, it came down to which team could execute a timely run. Indiana Wesleyan did so, going on a 10-2 run from the 18:14-14:50 mark to make it a 57-46 advantage for the Wildcats.
The Fire continued to battle, trimming the deficit to within five points five times within the last 15 minutes of the contest. However, IWU continued to respond.
Senior guard Ismael Celestin finished the night with 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Sophomore guard Isaiah Moody provided nine points and four assists off the bench.
The Fire look to bounce back Saturday as they take on No. 19 Saint Francis (Ind.) at 4 p.m. in The Furnace. Saint Francis defeated No. 21 Warner 76-75 in the second game of the evening.