Men's Basketball | 1/17/2019 8:17:00 AM

LAKE WALES, Fla. – Warner and Southeastern will battle it out at the top of The Sun Conference.
 
#11 Southeastern (16-3, 9-0 TSC) at #22 Warner (14-6, 8-1 TSC)
Thursday, January 17
7:30 p.m.
Lake Wales, Fla. – Turner Athletic Center
 
There's a lot at stake tonight in the Turner Athletic Center on the campus of Warner University, Lake Wales, Fla. The Royals remain a perfect 8-0 on their home court this season. The Fire have proven to be a tough team on the road as they are 8-0 when traveling to opponents. 
 
The Royals are riding a six-game win streak with four of those games inside of The Sun Conference. The Fire are carrying a seven-game win streak to Lake Wales tonight including four Sun Conference wins.
 

 
Headlines:
 
- Southeastern and Warner are the top two teams in the Sun Conference standings and the only two ranked teams in the conference.
-With a win on Thursday night, Southeastern will take a two-game lead on the Royals for the regular season title and hold the tie-breaker. While for Warner, they could pull into a tie for first place in the conference and earn the season split with the Fire. The regular season champion will host the Sun Conference tournament final four at the end of February.
- The match-up features the two top scoring teams in the conference with both teams averaging 83.5 points per game.
- In the match-up earlier this season, Southeastern came away with a 86-81 win in Lakeland. Southeastern held a three-point lead at the half and held on for the five-point win.
 
Inside the Numbers:
 
- Southeastern comes into this week's game with one of the most efficient shooting teams in the NAIA. The Fire are third in the NAIA in free throw percentage (80.6), 11th in field goal percentage (49.6), and 22nd in three-point field goal percentage (39.6).
- The free throw and three-point line were key for the Fire in the Nov. 17 match-up with Warner. Southeastern held an 8-3 edge in made threes and a 24-14 advantage in made free throws in the first meeting.
- Warner's key to the game will be to move the ball and dominate on the boards. The Royals rank 11th in the NAIA in total assists with 352 on the season and rank 13th in assists per game (17.6). On the glass, Warner ranks 16th in total rebound defense (31.9) and 17th in total rebound margin (+7.5).
- In the November contest, Warner held a 41-30 edge in total rebounding which helped them to a 17-9 advantage in second chance points.  
 
Who to Watch:
 
- Jeremy Oppenheimer will be a player to watch for Southeastern. Oppenheimer is averaging 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds on the season with 40 assists and 22 steals. Oppenheimer is shooting 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from three with 29 made threes on the season.
- Oppenheimer is one of the best free throw shooters in the NAIA, ranking 13th at 87.1 percent.
- Khalil Ozuna has scored in double-figures in 18 of Warner's 20 games this season and is averaging 19.5 points per game which is second best in the conference. Ozuna is coming off one of his best games of the year last week when he scored 39 against Johnson & Wales on Jan. 10.
- Ozuna is also a force on the boards. The 6-8, forward ranks 14th in the NAIA in total rebounds with 188 on the season and ranks second in the conference with 9.4 rebounds per game.
 
Quotables:
 
"Warner is well coached and have dynamic duo interior with Graham and Ozuna. Playing on the road, we will have to rebound and rely on our game plan. Sean does a great job making second game adjustments so we have to be ready to play and focused on our game plan." – R-Jay Barsh, Head Coach Southeastern
 
"Southeastern presents a big challenge but a big opportunity on Thursday night. Coach Barsh has done a terrific job with his team and SEU is very talented. We are excited about the chance to play for first place and expect it to be a great game for our fans. It's an exciting time for basketball fans in Polk County!"– Sean Hanrahan, Head Coach Warner

Tale of the Tape:

Current Record WU 14 - 6 SEU 16 - 3 Scoring 1670 1420 Points Per Game 83.500 83.529 Scoring Margin 8.100 6.706 Field Goals 624 485 Field Goal Percentage 0.484 0.496 3-pt FG 107 101 3-point FG Percent 0.355 0.396 3-point FG made per game 5.350 5.941 Free Throws 315 349 Free throw pct 0.738 0.806 Rebounds 757 592 Rebounds per game 37.850 34.824 Rebounding Margin 7.500 0.588 Assists 352 214 Assists per game 17.600 12.588 Turnovers 303 243 Turnovers per game 15.150 14.294 Turnover margin -2.450 -0.882 Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.162 0.881 Steals 135 132 Steals per game 6.750 7.765 Blocks 60 40 Blocks per game 3.000 2.353