LAKELAND, Fla. | Florida Memorial struggled in the first half before mounting a second-half charge in their 87-77 defeat versus Southeastern at the Furnace.

The Lions stalled in the first half, facing a 16-point deficit at the break. The team rallied in the second half, scoring 22 points in each of the next two quarters, outscoring the Fire 44-26. However, the gap was too large to overcome as the loss hands the Lions its first losing season since 2020-21.

Former first-team All-SUN selection Chantel Barnett led Florida Memorial in scoring with 14 points, shooting 5-of-13 from the field and 2-of-5 from the three-point line. Graduate student Dasiah Thornton was right behind with 13 points, going 5-of-12 from the field and 3-of-8 from downtown.

Barry University transfer Kalea Rainey followed suit with 12 points, hitting 5-of-10 shots from the field while junior Diamond Mays added 11 points to go along with three boards.

Junior Cor'Niya Johnson rounded out five double-digit scorers for FMU, scoring 10 points, including a perfect 2-of-2 from downtown and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.

The loss drops FMU to 11-15 on the year and 3-10 in conference play.

The Lions return to action, Saturday, February 24, as they head to Keiser for the regular season finale. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in West Palm Beach, Fla.