Eagles overpower Redhawks men

~ The men play five of their last seven OVC games at home

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Playing at Tennessee Tech has been a nightmare for Southeast Missouri State men's basketball teams over the past decade.

It's a new era for the Redhawks, with a new coaching staff and 11 new players, but one thing has remained the same, at least for this season.

Southeast still can't win on Tech's home court. Or beat the Eagles anywhere, for that matter.

The Redhawks lost for the 11th straight time at the Eblen Center, 82-68 on Saturday night. Southeast's last win at Tech came during the program's NCAA tournament season of 1999-2000.

Overall, Southeast has dropped 15 consecutive decisions to Tech.

"Tennessee Tech has a very talented basketball team, very experienced," first-year Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "They've got all the ingredients."

Junior forward Jajuan Maxwell, among four Southeast returning players from last season, has been through his share of losses to the Eagles. He attributes it more to personnel than a hex or a venue.

"It seems like every year they have a very experienced team and a lot of talent," Maxwell said.

Southeast (6-15, 3-8 Ohio Valley Conference) lost for the sixth time in seven games and remained eighth in the 10-team OVC.

The Redhawks dropped both ends on a road trip that covered more than 1,000 miles -- including several hundred through a snow and ice storm -- and began with Thursday's excruciating 58-55 setback at Jacksonville (Ala.) State that saw Southeast lose a lead with 6 seconds remaining.

On the bright side, Southeast plays five of its final seven conference games at the Show Me Center.

"It was a tough trip. We took our lumps on the road," junior guard Anthony Allison said. "I feel like in front of our fans, we'll give some lumps out."

Tech (12-10, 6-5), tied for fifth in the OVC, has won four straight, all at home. The Eagles swept the season series from Southeast, after prevailing 82-73 on Jan. 2 in Cape Girardeau.

"They're a very good, experienced ballclub," Allison said. "It's hard to beat that."

Allison and Maxwell led Southeast offensively with 17 points apiece.

Maxwell had his second straight strong outing in tying a career-high point total. He added seven rebounds and two steals.

"We played hard. We gave it our all," Maxwell said. "It's just unfortunate we got the loss."

Senior forward LaMont Russell, among the OVC's top rebounders, recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Junior guard Sam Pearson added 10 points for the Redhawks.

"I thought we had some good things happen tonight," said Nutt, who lauded Southeast's effort. "Anthony Allison got back on track after a couple of tough games, Jajuan Maxwell put two good games together.

"I'm the worst loser you'll ever meet ,and we've had our share of it. But I tell the guys all the time your best is good enough. I was very proud of their effort, the way they fought."

Sophomore forward Kevin Murphy, the OVC's No. 5 scorer at more than 15 points per contest, paced Tech with a game-high 20 points.

Southeast actually started strong, hitting 10 of its first 19 field-goal attempts to build a 22-14 lead midway through the first half.

But Tech, which leads the OVC in 3-point shooting and ranks second in field-goal shooting, soon caught fire.

The Eagles made 6 of their final 9 first-half shots, hit 5 of 9 from 3-point range in the period and also canned 15 of 19 free throws.

Tech outscored Southeast 12-4 over the final three minutes of the half to lead 44-35 at the break.

"They out-toughed us the last few minutes of the first half," Allison said.

Tech opened the final half with a 9-2 burst to go up 53-37, and Southeast got no closer than 10 points the rest of the night. The Eagles' biggest lead was 66-44.

"I thought SEMO played hard. They didn't quit," Tech coach Mike Sutton said. "We'd have beat last year's team by 40 tonight."

The Redhawks' shooting really cooled off in the second half and they wound up at 37.3 percent after a 30.3-percent performance in the final period.

Southeast made just 3 of 17 3-pointers (17.6 percent) but had a season-low nine turnovers.

Tech finished the game shooting 43.1 percent -- well below its season average of 48.5 -- and made a sizzling 8 of 15 from beyond the arc (53.3 percent).

Southeast played its sixth straight game without junior forward Cameron Butler, who has a foot injury. Butler is the Redhawks' top scorer in OVC play and No. 2 rebounder overall.

The Redhawks host future OVC member Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Tuesday. Their next league game is Saturday at home against Eastern Illinois.