Southeastern Knocks Off No. 4 St. Thomas
Lakeland, Fla. - Four players scored in double figures and Tim Jickell put home a wide open layup with five seconds to go as the Southeastern University men's basketball team knocked off No. 4 ranked Saint Thomas University by the score of 60-58 on Saturday night.
After a relatively even first half, in which neither team could gain more than a five point advantage, the Fire looked poised to pull off their fourth upset of a top 25 team this season.
Southeastern entered the second half with a slim 26-24 lead despite shooting only 25% in the opening half.
After the game’s ninth tie of the night, Jickell made a basket from the paint with 13:43 on the clock to give the Fire a two point lead and begin a stretch where Southeastern began to take control of the game.
Back-to-back baskets from Jordan Talley and Brandon Moore gave the Fire a 6-0 run and put Southeastern up 39-33, the largest lead by either team to that point.
The Fire continued to maintain a solid lead from that point thanks to the balanced scoring attack of Talley, Jickell, Raphael Crump, and Patrick Ryan.
Talley led the Fire with 14 points, followed closely by Crump’s 13 points. Ryan and Jickell rounded out the double digits scorers with 10 points apiece.
The Sun Conference leading Bobcats had one last run in them, starting with a three from Floyd Battle; which shrunk the Fire lead to four points (55-51) with 2:39 on the clock.
Later, two made free throws from Dylan O’Sullivan bought the Bobcats within two points.
After Talley made one of two free throws on the other end, O’Sullivan then silenced the upset minded crowd with a deep three to tie the game up for the 10
th time at 58-58 with 12 seconds on the clock.
The Fire then took possession of the ball and Crump drove the lane to dish to a wide open Jickell who put home the game winner.
Southeastern only shot 27% for the game, but did convert on 22 of 27 attempts from the free throw line.
The Fire out-rebounded the Bobcats 53-46, thanks in part to Brandon Moore’s 17 (14 defensive) boards.
The win moves the Fire’s record to 14-8 overall and 5-5 in The Sun Conference with a date at Webber International scheduled for next Wednesday at 7 p.m.