COURT SESSION: SE BOUNCED BACK, ALMOST UPSET MIZZOU

Last week was not a good week for our basketball team in the won-loss column, but we did make progress and that is encouraging.

We had two losses, playing our worst game of the year in an 81-62 loss at Southern Illinois on Thursday and playing probably our best game in a 65-64 loss at Missouri on Saturday.

I can't put my finger on the reason we didn't play well at Southern Illinois, but it was a game where we were just never in sync either offensively or defensively. Unfortunately, there are always games like that in a season and the important thing is how you bounce back from the poor performance.

The loss was compounded when we found out on Friday that Bud Eley had broken a bone in his foot during the first half of the SIU game. Bud hurt the foot in the first half, but said he could play in the second half. He really showed me something about his toughness because he scored 18 points and also blocked two shots in the second half while playing on a broken foot.

Eley's loss is a big one because he is not only our top scorer and rebounder, he is such a presence inside. My favorite saying in life is that it's not what happens to you, but how you react to it. That certainly applies in this case and I felt our team really responded in the Missouri game.

We came back with a very good practice on Friday after the SIU game and I felt we would be ready to play at Missouri even without Bud. During the game our players never felt we were going to lose the game.

Their confidence level was very high and showed up in their performance. We shot over 54 percent as a team and that's the best a Missouri opponent has shot this season. And remember, they have played nationally ranked teams in Duke, Kentucky and Arkansas.

I was proud of the way our players played at Missouri. We had a chance to win the game with the final shot, but it didn't go in. Despite the loss, we made progress and our team played with heart and character. We can never accept losing, but we can live with a performance like we had at Missouri.

In the time we are without Bud, every player is going to have to contribute more scoring and rebounding and our players did that in the Missouri game. Now we have to sustain that desire to pick up the slack in Bud's absence.

Travis Smith came off the bench and really played well at Missouri. He hasn't been playing much at all but when we needed him he came in, scored five points, pulled down eight rebounds and even had a couple of blocked shots.

It was good to visit with family and friends at Missouri. I chatted with Norm Stewart for about 45 minutes prior to the game and for about 10 minutes after the game. We also visited again by telephone on Monday as we tried to help each other out by comparing notes on our teams.

I also had a chance to visit briefly with a lot of other friends, including Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sunvold, who both played at Missouri when I was on the coaching staff. Both had good NBA careers and have been very successful since. Stipanovich told me he had recently moved back to St. Louis after spending the last seven years in Oregon.

My wife, Barbara, had her entire family at the game and most of my family attended the game. It was a great atmosphere. If only that last shot had gone in...

Our next game, Thursday night against Truman State at the Show Me Center, will be a big challenge for us because we are coming off a very emotional game against Missouri, it is finals week and our players will be leaving for home and a short Christmas break on Friday. We will have to overcome all the elements and play hard, because Truman State will come in primed for an upset.

I know this is the holiday season and there are presents to purchase and parties to attend, but I hope you can come to the Show Me Center and help us out on Thursday night.

Gary Garner is the head men's basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University