LAKELAND, Fla. – A much more complete effort helped the Southeastern men’s basketball team move to 7-1 on the season with a 108-70 win over Truett McConnell in the first game of the SEU Classic on Friday.

Just 48 hours earlier, the Fire saw a 34-point lead with just under seven minutes to play whittle down to a 15-point final margin. Friday, the Fire held a 45-point advantage with 5:17 left and didn’t see much of it go away as the team went deeper into the bench.

A 14-0 run during the middle of the first half helped the Fire build a 20-point lead with 8:44 left. Three free throws at the end of the half by Deshaun Osborne gave the Five a 59-32 lead at the break.

Osborne finished with 16 off the bench, going 8-of-8 at the free throw line.

Riley Minix only needed 20 minutes to score 19 points and record four rebounds, connecting on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Riley Matticks had his best game in red and black thus far, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and was 3-for-3 from 3-point land.

Sophomore Reggie Mesidor added 14 points, and Ralph Diaz added 10. Diaz and Isaiah Moody each had four assists.

The Fire finished 12-of-24 from 3-point range.

Saturday, Southeastern will face Freed-Hardeman which is coming off of its first loss of the season at 6 p.m.

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