Fire Bounces Back With Victory Over Trinity Christian
March 18, 2011
Big Second Half By Julius Williams Secures Win For Fire
Julius Williams scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the second half. OAKLAND CITY, Ind.—The Fire men’s basketball team bounced back with an 81-72 victory over Trinity Christian College, Friday afternoon, in the second day of the NCCAA D-I National Tournament.
SEU cannot win the NCCAA National Championship after their loss to Spring Arbor in the opening round, but the Fire still has plenty to play for.
Southeastern’s perimeter defense played much better on day two, holding TCC to 0-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half. On the offensive end, the Fire was very efficient in their half court offense, shooting 55% from the floor. Malcolm Pollock went 5-of-7 from the field for 10 points.
Trinity Christian shot 12-of-16 from the free throw line in the half to help keep them in the game, as the Fire built a 41-32 halftime lead.
In the second half, Trinity Christian made a run and cut the Fire’s lead to just three points (51-48) with 11:30 to play. But, on SEU’s next possession, Chris Patterson knocked down a three-pointer to increase SEU’s lead to 54-48, and the Trolls would pull no closer.
Senior, Julius Williams, had a monster second half for the Fire, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Williams finished with 16 points and 11 boards for the game, pulling down nine offensive rebounds overall. He also finished 8-of-12 from the free throw line.
Southeastern is now 19-18 overall on the year.
Pollock and Patterson both ended with 13 points apiece. Pollock added four rebounds while Patterson dished out five assists.
Nate Marshall chipped in with 14 points and three rebounds. Marshall is now just three points shy of becoming SEU’s all-time leading scorer, eclipsing Andrew Thurber’s mark of 2,074 career points.
Marshall will get one more game to break the record as well, as SEU will play host school, Oakland City University, to close out their 2010-2011 season on Saturday. The two schools will play for fifth place overall in the tournament. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m.
