NCF Men's Basketball had RV Southeastern on the ropes for much of the afternoon in Lakeland Saturday afternoon, but its upset bid fell short as a late surge helped the Fire knock off the Mighty Banyans 92-78.

The Mighty Banyans led for much of the first half, which included leading 24-19 with 10:32 left in the half, but from there the Fire closed the opening half on a 30-15 run to take a 49-39 lead into halftime.

Despite the big run from the Fire, NCF continued to punch back as it opened the second half on a 24-16 run to pull within two at 65-63 with 7:55 left to play, but Southeastern once again was able to pull away, closing the game on a 27-15 run to avoid the upset.

Diego Eslava led the Mighty Banyans with 28 points as he shot a stellar 6-for-12 from three-point range, 8-for-19 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Eslava was joined in double figures by Colby Chapman (15), Carlin Gelin (13) and Ben Walker (12).

Walker led the Mighty Banyans with eight rebounds and finished tied with Eslava and Gelin with a team-high two assists.

On the defensive end, Giovanni Toscanini picked up a team-high two steals while both Walker and Zach Close led NCF with two blocks.

With the loss, NCF is now 5-10 overall and 0-5 in Sun Conference play. The Mighty Banyans will be back in action Wednesday when it welcomes Webber to SCF-Bradenton for a 7 p.m. EST Sun Conference matchup.