COLLEGE BASKETBALL: SOUTHEAST AVENGES NIGHTMARE

At first, the Southeast Missouri State Indians got burned.

Then they caught fire.

After a sluggish start, the Indians went on a 31-10 run to end the first half as Southeast ended its two-game exhibition season with an 85-67 victory over the Dreambuilders in front of 2,856 fans at the Show Me Center Saturday night.

The win avenged a rare exhibition loss as the Dreambuilders escaped with a 72-68 victory last year.

A similar fate looked to be possible early in the game.

Southeast found itself trailing 25-10 with 9:20 to go in the first half, but the Indians ran off 15 straight points then managed to take a 39-33 lead at halftime.

"There were no adjustments as far as Xs and Os," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "We just picked up the intensity and emotion that you need at this level. We picked it up at the defensive end and that resulted in better offense."

The Indians pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Dreambuilders 46-34.

But the exhibition win didn't come without a price.

Starting forward Emmanuel McCuthison went down with a dislocated shoulder in the second half.

"It happened about three or four times last year in practice," said Garner. "Usually, he could get it popped back in, but the trainer couldn't get it back in."

McCuthison was taken to an area hospital.

"I think he'll be all right," said Garner.

Sharp-shooting guard Amory Sanders led Southeast with a game-high 22 points, making three of his six 3-pointers and six of his nine shots overall. He also made all seven of his free throws.

"Amory played well," Garner said. "He had 18 the other night. He shot well and took good shots."

The Indians got 20 points and two dunks from 6-foot-11 center Nyah Jones, while Drew Demond and Michael Stokes each had 11 points. Demond also had a team-high 13 rebounds, three assists and a block.

"Drew Demond and Tim Scheer both played well and rebounded hard," said Garner. "Tim only had five rebounds but he was going to the boards. Sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way."

The ball certainly wasn't bouncing the Indians' way early.

The Dreambuilders, after an early Southeast basket, ran off 10 straight points and seemed to have no troubles finding open looks. Obviously frustrated, Garner inserted five new players at one point early in the first half.

"We came out complacent," Garner said. "We didn't have enough fire and we got out to a slow start."

But all told, Garner thought his team's performance was better than it was last week when Southeast beat Team Reebok 106-70.

"At this point in the year, the consistency just isn't there," said Garner. "You'll have your bright spots and your low spots. Tonight we had more bright spots than we did last game. We got the ball inside more and rebounded better. But we had 16 turnovers; that's way too many turnovers."

The Dreambuilders had four players in double figures, but none had more than 13. VonZell McGrew had 13 points and nine rebounds, but he fouled out with 2:00 left.

Once the Indians got past their rough beginning, they rarely missed. Southeast shot an impressive 50 percent on the game, making 30 of its 60 shots, including five of 10 from three-point range. The Dreambuilders, meanwhile, shot just 32 percent from the field and made just five of their 28 3-pointers. They shot just 28 percent in the second half.

Southeast opens the regular season on Friday when Truman State visits the Show Me Center for a 7:30 p.m. contest.