Garner sees positive signs in loss to Southern Illinois

Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Gary Garner was naturally disappointed that his team lost Saturday night -- but other than that, he really had no complaints.

Southern Illinois had to scratch and claw before leaving the Show Me Center with a hard-fought 72-68 victory that wasn't secured until the closing seconds, when Southeast missed two shots that would have tied the game.

"We're all disappointed that we lost," Garner said. "But I couldn't have asked for a better effort. I told the players that if we would play with that same passion and energy. ..."

Garner didn't finish the statement, but his point was obvious. If Southeast (3-5) can stand toe to toe with one of the premier mid-major programs in the country, there's no reason why it can't be competitive in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"Definitely," senior forward Reggie Golson said. "We've had a lot of injuries, and we're still not really clicking yet like we need to be, but we showed that we can have a good team.

"It's a loss, but we played well against a really good team, and we put ourselves in a position to win. We'll go back to practice and learn from this."

Although SIU (7-2) led the entire second half -- including by 11 points early -- after being up 33-27 at halftime, Southeast made things tough on the Salukis.

Senior guard Derek Winans' 3-pointer with 21 seconds left pulled Southeast within 70-68.

After SIU's Stetson Hairston missed the front end of a one-and-one with 19 seconds left, Southeast had two chances to tie the contest.

But Winans had a driving shot blocked out of bounds with eight seconds left, then senior forward Dainmon Gonner was well off on a shot from about 12 feet with five seconds remaining.

SIU's Tony Young then made two free throws with three seconds left to seal the victory.

Salukis coach Chris Lowery, a Southeast assistant under Garner during the 2000-01 season, had plenty of praise for his former squad -- and he said Saturday's contest was definitely not a case of SIU taking its opponent lightly.

"Not at all. I totally credit SEMO because they were very well prepared for us. I credit them for making things hard for us," Lowery said. "They played well and it was a great game. I'd love to have Gonner and Golson."

Although Gonner has now been well off the mark twice in late-game situations that would have forged ties -- he air-balled a 3-pointer against Montana at the buzzer -- he scored 22 points Saturday and continues to lead Southeast with an average of nearly 21 points per contest. Gonner played the entire 40 minutes against SIU.

Golson added 17 points and matched Gonner with six rebounds to tie for the team lead. Golson also blocked two shots and had three assists.

Senior guard Mike Nelke, who has been sharing time at the point with freshman starter Paul Paradoski, added eight points and three assists. Nelke hit two of three 3-pointers, both big second-half shots to help Southeast rally.

Winans also scored eight points but he hit just two of nine shots as he continues to struggling with his shooting after missing all of preseason practice and the first four games with a stress fracture in his left leg.

"Derek's shot still isn't back, but he'll get there," said Garner of Southeast's leading scorer the last three years. "It just wasn't realistic to expect him to miss all that time and then just pick up right where he left off."

Senior guard Darren Brooks paced SIU with 19 points. He also had six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Sophomore guard Jamaal Tatum added 18 points and hit four of six 3-pointers, including all three of his attempts from beyond the arc in the second half.

"Brooks and Tatum are great players," Garner said. "Southern Illinois just really has a good team, so athletic, really quick and strong."

Southeast had only eight turnovers against SIU's vaunted pressure defense that forces an average of 19 turnovers per game.

"That's probably the most positive thing to come out of this game," Garner said. "To only turn the ball over eight times against a team like that is really good."

Saturday's loss was Southeast's third four-point defeat of the season, and another came by three points.

"We have a lot of character and we keep fighting," Winans said. "We've made them close, but we haven't gotten over the hump."

SOUTHEAST SUMMARY

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 72, SOUTHEAST 68

Southern Illinois

Min FG 3PT FT Rb F Pt

Owen 20 2-6 0-0 1-2 2 2 5

Brooks 38 8-18 1-2 2-2 6 2 19

Tatum 28 6-8 4-6 2-3 1 2 18

Warren 29 4-5 0-0 0-0 5 2 8

Hairston 31 2-9 0-2 0-1 4 1 4

Dale 4 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0

Falker 20 3-3 0-0 1-2 4 3 7

Young 22 0-1 0-0 2-2 3 2 2

Foster 5 1-1 0-0 1-2 1 1 3

Shaw 6 3-3 0-0 0-0 3 1 6

Team rebounds 2

Totals 29-55 5-11 9-14 31 16 72

Southeast

Min FG 3PT FT Rb F Pt

Gonner 40 8-19 2-3 4-6 6 4 22

Golson 36 7-11 0-0 3-4 6 3 17

Hale 25 1-4 1-1 0-0 3 1 3

Willoughby 20 3-7 1-1 0-0 2 1 7

Paradoski 15 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 0

Nelke 23 2-3 2-3 2-2 3 1 8

Belcher 17 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 3 3

Winans 19 2-9 1-4 3-4 1 1 8

Francis 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Team rebounds 6

Totals 24-54 8-13 12-17 27 16 68

SIU 33 39 -- 72

Southeast 27 41 -- 68

Shooting percentages: FG: SIU .527, Southeast .444. 3-Point FG: SIU .455, Southeast .615. FT: SIU .643, Southeast .706. Assists: SIU 17 (Brooks 6), Southeast 11 (Golson 3, Nelke 3). Turnovers: SIU 9, Southeast 8. Technical Fouls: None. A - 4,636.