Second Half Hurts Fire against Seahawks

by | Jan 25, 2019 | RRSN News | 0 comments

LAKELAND, Fla.—It was a tale of two halves as the No. 13 Southeastern men’s basketball team took on the Keiser University Seahawks Thursday night. SEU, who held an 18-point advantage following 20 minutes of play, fell to Keiser 69-66 after being outscored 45-24 in the second frame. With the defeat, the Fire moved to 17-5 overall and 10-2 in conference play.

Jeremy Oppenheimer and Michael Hill Jr. were both instrumental to Southeastern building a big lead. With the game tied at 15 mid-way through the first half, the duo scored seven consecutive points during an 11-0 stretch to put the Fire up 26-15.

Hill Jr. connected on another two buckets and Oppenheimer collected five fast points as the first half came to a close to give SEU a 42-24 lead at the intermission.

Oppenheimer (13 points on 5-5 shooting) and Hill Jr. (12 points on 6-6 shooting) each failed to miss a shot in the opening 20 minutes. The Fire made an outstanding 63.3% (19-30) of their attempts in the first half, compared to just 33.3% (11-33) shooting from Keiser.

Following another quick five points at the beginning of the second half, Southeastern held its largest lead of the night at 21 points with 18:01 to go.

The Seahawks took over the competition from that point on, holding the Fire scoreless for the next 6:07 as the team went on an 18-0 run and cut the deficit to just three with 11:54 left.

Over the ensuing three minutes, Keiser utilized a 6-2 stretch to recapture the lead (50-49) for the first time since the opening basket of the contest. Overall, the Seahawks used a 31-2 second-half run to seize control.

Andrija Matic scored all of his 18 points in the second half to seal the victory for KU. Keiser opened up an eight-point advantage with just 18 seconds remaining, and although the Fire scored the last four points of the competition, they still fell by three.

The Seahawks shot 50.0% (18-36) from the field in the last 20 minutes, while Southeastern managed only 32.1% (9-28).

Oppenheimer ended the night with a game-high 20 points and six rebounds. Hill Jr., who notched just two points in the second half, finished with a season-high 14 and five boards.

The Fire will take the court again on Saturday when they travel to Johnson & Wales. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in North Miami.

Related Stories

COLLEGE HOCKEY: NOTRE DAME AT NO. 18 PENN STATE

By JOHN FINERAN With six Big Ten Conference hockey games remaining in the regular season, Notre Dame flies east to No. 18 Penn State, one of the league’s hottest teams at the moment, to try and build some momentum for a postseason tournament run. WHEN: Friday at 7...

MATT’S MATCHUPS 2024-25 HOOPS – VOLUME 12

February began a perfect note as I went 19-0 (100 percent) last week. My overall record is now 234-51, which has me at 82 percent for the season. TUESDAY Bremen (8-8) at New Prairie (3-14): The Lions roared to a 43-38 win over New Prairie a year ago. Silas Laidig had...

Ohio State and Oregon Earn Big Ten Softball Weekly Awards 

Ohio State and Oregon Earn Big Ten Softball Weekly Awards Buckeyes’ Burns and Boutte and Ducks’ Cox are first honorees of the 2025 season Player of the Week Jasmyn Burns, Ohio State So. – C/UT – Menifee, Calif. – Murrieta Mesa – Major: Psychology Hit .714 with two...

2024-25 Northern Indiana Conference Girls’ Basketball Team

FIRST TEAM Kira Reynolds             12        Washington Monique Mitchell        12        Washington Jessa Troy                   12        Penn Danica Barnes            12        Elkhart Ryiah Wilson               12        Washington Kenadie Schrock        ...

2024-25 IBCA BOYS’ BASKETBALL POLL – FEBRUARY 9, 2025

  Rank  School  Total Points  Record  1st Place Votes  1  Fishers  440  20-0  22  2  Greenfield-Central  414  17-2     3  Avon  356  16-2     4  Anderson  349  16-1     5  Indianapolis Cathedral  316  14-4     6  Westfield  311  13-3     7  Lawrence North  304 ...

U.S. Women’s Hockey Falls In Rivalry Series Finale, 3-1

U.S. Falls In Rivalry Series Finale, 3-1 Frankel posts 40-save performance in game five SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – Despite a 40-save performance from goaltender Aerin Frankel (Chappaqua, N.Y.), the U.S. Women’s National Team fell to Canada, 3-1, in game five of the 2024-25...

Wisconsin men’s hockey blanked by Penn State

Wisconsin men's hockey blanked by Penn State Badgers’ 25 shots on goal not enough to crack PSU   MADISON, Wis. – A Penn State goal early in the first period proved to be the game-winner as the Wisconsin men's hockey team fell to the Penn State Nittany Lions, 2-0,...