With new name, Southeast men find way to win

For a change, Southeast Missouri State University made all the key plays down the stretch.

And, for a change, one of Southeast's Ohio Valley Conference games wasn't decided in the last few seconds.

The freshly anointed Redhawks bounced back from two straight overtime losses to beat Austin Peay 65-52 Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 6,607 at the Show Me Center. It was by far Southeast's biggest turnout of the season.

"We had to have this game. This was a must win," said Southeast coach Gary Garner, whose squad led by just three points with under four minutes left but used an 8-0 run seal the victory. "Down the stretch, we made all the plays."

Southeast improved to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in OVC play by snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Governors (5-13, 3-3), who have won the past two OVC regular-season titles.

"We've been working on finishing games and today we did," senior forward Reggie Golson said. "We've lost some tough games, but we never gave up on ourselves. This can really get us going."

Added junior guard Ryan "Fuzzy" Belcher: "We made history in more ways than one, not only with the Redhawks but beating Austin Peay after losing 11 straight to them."

Southeast's dynamic duo of Golson and fellow senior forward Dainmon Gonner continued to provide the bulk of the team's offense and rebounding, with a big lift off the bench from the rapidly improving Belcher.

Gonner, the OVC's leading scorer at 20.4 points per game prior to Saturday, had 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals.

"We needed this win, to beat the defending champions," Gonner said.

Golson, third in the OVC in scoring while ranking first in rebounding and blocked shots, had 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Belcher, a junior college transfer in his first year at Southeast, added a season-high 10 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Belcher did not miss a shot, going three of three from the field -- including two of two on 3-pointers -- and two of two from the free-throw line. He also made both of his 3-point attempts during Thursday's overtime loss to Tennessee Tech.

"Fuzzy is really playing within himself, letting the game come to him," Garner said. "He's really been playing well."

Said Belcher: "I'm definitely getting more confidence with my shot. It feels good to contribute."

Freshman point guard Paul Paradoski added four assists, two steals and just one turnover. Senior guard Derek Winans made two of four 3-pointers and added nine points.

After having 20 turnovers during a 60-50 loss at Austin Peay on Jan. 6, Southeast committed just 10 turnovers Saturday. The Redhawks also outrebounded the Govs 33-30.

"For us to have only 10 turnovers against anybody is really good, but especially against that kind of defensive team," Garner said. "And we did a good job on the boards."

The game was close virtually throughout, the 13-point margin certainly not indicative of how tight things were in a contest that featured four ties and 10 lead changes. Neither squad had a double-figure advantage until Southeast pulled away late.

Southeast led 23-15 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, but the Redhawks needed Gonner's 3-pointer with five seconds left to go ahead 28-27 at the break.

Things remained extremely close most of the second half, with several lead changes and neither squad ahead by more than five points until the last three minutes.

Belcher's 3-pointer with 5:09 remaining put Southeast up 53-48. The Redhawks were clinging to a 53-50 lead with under four minutes left when they scored eight straight points -- six by Gonner -- to secure the triumph.

The Redhawks hit six of seven free throws in the final two minutes and were 15 of 20 from the line for the game. Austin Peay attempted just five foul shots and made them all.

"This is big for us," Golson said. "Now we just need to keep winning."

Junior center Zac Schlader led the Govs with 14 points.