GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Fire made the 654-mile trek to Greensboro, North Carolina, to take on the Spartans in an exhibition contest. Southeastern found themselves tested by a nationally recognized NCAA Division I opponent. The Spartans of UNC Greensboro came alive in the second half to capture an 85-67 victory over the Fire.
Southeastern opened the contest with a 12-6 run over the Spartans. However, during the ensuing minutes, the Fire hit a bit of a scoring drought which allowed the Spartans to rally back and take their first lead of the contest. From this point in the first half to the end of the game, the Spartans would never surrender the lead back to the Fire.
At the end of initial 20 minutes of play the Fire trailed the Spartans 39-31. Both Ryan Atkins and Carlon Holder led the Fire in the scoring department with nine points apiece.
As he has done all season long, Atkins caught fire in the second half shooting a perfect 8-8 from the foul line. The senior collected 16 points in the final half to end the game with 25 points.
The Spartans had their fair share of scorers as well. Four members of the UNC Greensboro roster collected double-digit points. Francis Alonso ignited the Spartans in their victory over the Fire with a 20-point effort. Alonso shot 57% from beyond the arc and 60% from the floor.
Southeastern has shown the ability to rebound the basketball successfully, however, tonight the Spartans commanded that category out rebounding the Fire 38-22.
Thursday provided the Fire the opportunity to gain some valuable experience heading into the second half of the season. The Fire will be back on December 30 when they take on Amherst College inside The Furnace.
