LAKELAND, Fl.--The #13 Seahawks men's basketball team upended #17 Southeastern 72-63 on Wednesday evening in Sun Conference play. Northwood used a 38-22 edge on the boards, while going 14-16 from the free throw line.

In a very competitive first 14 minutes, the game featured six ties and six lead changes, with the largest lead being three by Southeastern. With the score tied at 23-23, two free throws by Ian Umpierre started a 9-0 run that was capped off by a Chris Lee jumper giving the Seahawks a 31-23 lead with 2:30 left in the period. However, the Fire closed out the half outscoring Northwood 13-5 closing the gap to 36-30 going into the break.

Fred Mattison scored the first basket of the new half, but the Fire responded with a 12-2 run retaking a 44-40 advantage with 14:39 left. The deficit did not last long, as Marus Hardy connected on a jumper starting a 14-0 spree that was capped off by a three pointer by Chris Solomon for a 54-44 lead with 9:13 to go. Southeastern got to within 63-59 with 4:01 remaining but the Seahawks closed the game using a 9-4 edge, winning 72-63.

Mattison led the way with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Solomon had 18 points and Hardy with 14. Ian Umpierre had five assists, and Lee had eight rebounds off the bench. On the defensive end Solomon had four steals. 

With the win, Northwood improves to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in Sun Conference play. The Seahawk's next game is Saturday when they travel to St. Thomas. The tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.