Score: Keiser 69, No. 13 Southeastern 66
Records: Keiser (11-11, 7-5 TSC), No. 13 Southeastern (17-5, 10-2 TSC)
Location: The Furnace - Lakeland, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Radulovic (G), Fisher (G), Orlic (F), Gedeon (F), Matic (F)
Southeastern Starters: Oppenheimer (G), Moody (G), Barsh (G), Celestin (G), Hill Jr. (F)

Keiser Highlights

• Andrija Matic paced the Seahawks in scoring with 18 points, all of which came in the second half. The senior forward also was able to grab seven rebounds.
• Jermar Perkins produced 15 points and also added five rebounds and three assists.
• Marko Orlic contributed 13 points and five rebounds, while backcourt teammate Marko Radulovic had nine points, seven rebounds, and a team-high three steals.
• Javen Soto came off the bench and matched a season-high with eight rebounds, while the freshman also added six points.

 
Turning Point                                                                                
It was a tale of two halves to say the least, as Keiser turned what was a 21 point deficit early in the second half into a three-point victory. The tide began to turn dramatically after an impressive and improbable 31-2 run that gave the Seahawks their largest lead of the game, 57-49, with just over five minutes to play.
 
How it Happened

• The Fire came out and scored ten of the game's first 14 points, but the Seahawks then drew back to within a single possession after a Radulovic three-pointer that made it 10-7 Southeastern at the 15:20 mark.
• The Radulovic three-pointer was the start of an 11-5 stretch of play in favor of the Seahawks, as KU tied the game at 15 points apiece following a CJ Fisher layup with 9:08 to play in the first half.
• The Fire however had a swift response by netting 11 consecutive points to go in front 26-15 with 6:08 on the clock, doing most of the damage from inside the paint before Orlic halted the run with a jumper.
• A layup plus the harm from Perkins brought the Seahawks back to within single digits at 29-20 with 3:54 remaining, but once again the Fire used a spurt to extend the advantage, this time to 15 points at 35-20 with a 6-0 run until there was 1:52 left in the half.
• After the two sides exchanged buckets, Radulovic canned a smooth midrange jumper near the free-throw line to make it 37-24, but the Fire produced the final five points of the half to go into the break with an 18 point lead, 42-24.
• The Fire lead grew to as large as 21 points at 47-26 early in the second half, but that is where the Seahawks began to enforce their will and work themselves back into the ball game.
• An 8-0 Keiser run made it 47-34 with 14:56 on the clock after a Matic layup, forcing a Fire timeout. The run continued however out of the huddles, and the Fire had no answer. Southeastern called another timeout at the 12:32 mark, after the Seahawks run extended to 16-0 to make it 47-42.

• Though the hosts finally found a basket to make it 49-44 with 11:14 to play, Keiser continued to pour it on. The Seahawks went ahead 50-49 after a Soto bucket in the paint with nine minutes left to play, the Seahawks first lead since the opening basket of the game.
• The run only continued, and extended all the way to a 31-2 stretch of play after a Matic layup gave the Seahawks their largest lead of the game, 57-49, with 5:25 to play. The lopsided run ran from the 18:01 mark in the second half until there was just 4:32 to play when a Southeastern basket made it 57-51 Keiser.
• Southeastern was able to draw as close as four points at 57-53 and then later at 61-57 with just 50 seconds on the clock. Out of a timeout however Keiser broke the full court pressure and produced a Soto uncontested layup with 45 seconds remaining.
• Two Southeastern free-throws made it a four point game once again, but then Perkins found a layup to push it right back to six. After the Seahawks got a stop, Southeastern began to have to foul.
• Orlic sunk two from the line with 18 seconds left to make it 67-59, Southeastern hurried and hit a three to make it 67-62, then Matic made both after being intentionally fouled to make it 69-62 with nine ticks left.
• Southeastern hit a basket and the foul, then intentionally missed the free-throw and produced a layup to make it 69-66 with the clock dwindling down,. It was too little too late for the Fire however as Keiser successfully inbounded the ball and held on for the  remarkable victory over the Sun Conference leading and NAIA No. 13 Fire.

 
Inside the Box Score

• All of Matic's team-high 18 points came in the second half for the Seahawks' cause.
• Both sides saw their shooting fortunes change drastically from one half to the next. SEU shot 63 percent in the opening half to just 32.14 percent in half two, while the Seahawks shot 33.3 percent in the first half and then improved to 50 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes of play.
• Keiser outrebounded the Fire 41-37 and outscored SEU 44-42 in the paint, as both sides did most of their damage inside.
• The Seahawks defense had only allowed seven points in the second half until there was just 4:32 to play.
• The Seahawks held a noticeable edge from the free-throw line, shooting 9-of-10 as compared to Southeastern's 6-of-16 performance.

 
Game Notes

• Keiser earned its first victory of the season over an NAIA Top-25 opponent, and moved to .500 on the season in doing so with a third consecutive Sun Conference victory.
• The Seahawks have now won six of seven games in the New Year, and have moved into fourth place in the Sun Conference standings.
• The victory evened the season series with the Fire, and extended Keiser's all-time advantage in the series to 19-5.
• The Seahawk coaching staff joined the Southeastern staff by wearing sneakers to help the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society raise awareness for cancer and also help raise money for continued cancer research.

 
Coach's Corner
"The team's intensity really picked up in the second half," said Head Coach Bob Starkman."I had to get into them a little bit at the break, and the players responded by executing on the offensive end and by believing in themselves. We switched some things up defensively to get them out of rhythm, and we were very controlled throughout, Matic had a big second half, Orlic, Soto and the team really kept them off the glass, and we hit free-throws down the stretch which was key. It was a great team win."


Ties: 1
Lead Changes: 2
Largest Lead: Keiser (8), Southeastern (21)
 
Team Leaders
Keiser
Points: Matic (18)
Rebounds: Soto (8)
Assists: Fisher (4)
 
No. 13 Southeastern
Points: Oppenheimer (20)
Rebounds: Causwell (8)
Assists: Barsh/Oppenheimer (3)
 
Up Next
Keiser will return to the Student Life Center on Saturday in hopes of picking up the fourth consecutive Sun Conference victory when the Seahawks host Ave Maria at 4:00 p.m.