Eagles star shines after intermission

The burning and throbbing in Cameron Butler's feet reached excruciating levels during Thursday's game against Morehead State.

That's what happens when you're charged with guarding a potential first-round NBA draft pick.

"There's not a lot of Farieds out there, so I burned a lot of energy on both ends," said Butler, Southeast Missouri State's 6-foot-6 senior forward. "Mostly, I don't want to use a lot on defense, but with him, I had to, so I was constantly bouncing on my toes over and over and over. It was really tough tonight. After that first half, I was pretty much shot."

Butler suffers from severe arthritis in both feet which creates constanct pain, but he succeeded in slowing down Kenneth Faried, the Eagles' star.

"Just beating him to the punch," Butler said. "I know he's real aggressive and likes to rebound. I know if I can get between him and the basket, I can shut him down mostly."

Butler limited Faried, who averages 18.8 points and 13.6 rebounds, to four points and one rebound in the first half Thursday. But the Eagles built a comfortable lead early in the second half on the shoulders of Faried and posted the 76-63 victory at the Show Me Center.

"I just came out the second half with the mindset just attack, attack, attack and just don't stop until I can't breathe," Faried said.

MSU coach Donnie Tyndall challenged Faried at halftime to make his presence felt.

"I did mention that at halftime, and we all know Kenneth Faried is one of the best players in college basketball," Tyndall said about the slow start. "But that doesn't mean at times he doesn't need to be motivated. Usually he's the guy motivating his teammates.

"The first five minutes of the second half he completely dominated the game and got our team going."

Faried's night got off to a late start after he was left out of the starting lineup for the first time this season. He didn't start because he missed a portion of a practice earlier this week.

"We have a policy with our team, if guys can't get through a practice or play for a practice for whatever reason, then they don't start," Tyndall said. "That's regardless of who it is. He got banged up in practice the other day and had to miss about three-fourths of the practice so we just held him out of the starting lineup."

Faried said he injured his left side during a rebounding drill when he went up for a dunk and slipped off the rim. His entire left side, especially his elbow and hip, still was sore Thursday.

But the injury didn't show in the second half Thursday. He flashed his brilliance early in the second half when he skied above everyone else to snare a rebound and put it back for a bucket less than 30 seconds into the half. He grabbed another offensive rebound less than a minute later where he went over a Redhawks player's back and tipped the ball up twice before corralling it. About 35 seconds later he recorded an offensive rebound by ripping the ball away from a Southeast player.

"He's the best rebounder in college basketball because how hard he plays," Tyndall said. "His athleticism and his incredible second jump. But we really teach wheeling off guys, like spinning off them. The first half, I thought he was allowing himself to be blocked out and not wheeling off guys. The second half, when he started wheeling off guys, he was putting himself in position to get his hands on balls and keep balls alive. He does that, trust me, without any coaching from me."

Faried finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. The 11 points were a season low, and it was only the third time in 18 games that he's been limited to less than 10 rebounds.

"Every shot that's missed, he thinks he can get it," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "If you don't pay so much attention to him with toughness, you're in for a long night. That's why he's the king of double-doubles every night. But we did a good job on him. It's the other guys that killed us tonight."

Faried, a 6-8, 235-pound forward, is receiving plenty of interest from NBA scouts. Some mock drafts project him being selected anywhere from middle to late in the first round. It's not something Faried wants to discuss.

"Pretty much no comment and keep my head level and focus on one goal while I'm here, and that's try to win the OVC championship," Faried said about his approach to the NBA draft speculation. "I just take it how it is. I'm a very humble guy and I stay that way. I'm not going to back down to that and I'm going to stay receptive to coaching because I know ain't nothing promised or guaranteed in this world."

His coach was more willing to discuss the prospects of a professional career for his star player.

"I've said many, many times in my interviews about Kenneth Faried, Kenneth Faried is an even better person than he is a basketball player, and he's obviously a fantastic basketball player," Tyndall said. "Kenneth is a humble kid from humble beginnings. His mom has raised him the right way. He's not an ego guy.

"I think people are crazy I've told NBA people if they don't take him in the first round. But like he said, we all understand there are no promises, no guarantees, so he needs to continue to work hard every day, which he does."