Four players from Southeast's NCAA tourney team took in game

Several members of Southeast Missouri State's 1999-2000 NCAA tournament team attended Saturday's game against Murray State at the Show Me Center.

If only they had been able to suit up for the Redhawks.

Unfortunately -- at least if you're a Southeast fan -- that is not allowed. So all they could do was watch as the Racers dealt the Redhawks their sixth straight loss, 76-69, in a contest that was televised nationally by ESPN2.

"It would have been nice to get out there and play," said a smiling Roderick Johnson.

Johnson was the leading scorer and rebounder as a senior forward in 1999-2000, when Southeast went 24-7, tied for the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title, won the OVC tournament and earned the program's first -- and so far, only -- NCAA Division I tournament berth.

That Southeast squad nearly stunned the nation, leading heavily favored LSU late before suffering a 64-61 first-round NCAA tourney loss.

Johnson, starting forward Mike Branson and walk-on reserve guard Matt Morris were introduced on the court prior to Saturday's game. Starting center Brian Bunche got to the Show Me Center after the tipoff but still saw most of the contest.

"It's nice to be back here and see all the fans, and a lot of old friends," Johnson said.

Johnson, who played several years of professional basketball overseas, now lives in his hometown of Milwaukee.

Branson and Bunche, who both also played some in the professional ranks overseas, are now living back in their home towns of St. Louis and Little Rock, Ark., respectively.

Morris is an attorney around his hometown of McLeansboro, Ill.

"It was really good to see those four," said Southeast coach Gary Garner, whose 1999-2000 squad captured the program's only OVC regular-season and tournament championships. "It was a great team that year."

Television pros, cons

An announced crowd of 5,285 -- by far a season high -- included a large student turnout and displayed plenty of enthusiasm for ESPN2's national television audience.

That certainly made an impression on the Redhawks, who gave the potent Racers quite a battle before falling short.

"We got after it pretty good. We had some energy from the crowd," junior guard Terrick Willoughby said. "It was great to see so many fans out there, and showing that much enthusiasm."

Added senior guard Roy Booker: "The fans were really good. They gave us a big lift."

Garner was also appreciative of the crowd and for the opportunity to play on national television.

But Garner believes this was one time where not being on TV might have worked in the Redhawks' favor.

With Murray State coming off Thursday's important OVC victory against Tennessee Tech and getting ready for Monday's first-place showdown with Samford -- the teams are tied for the top spot -- the Racers might normally have looked past Southeast.

But not with the entire nation watching.

"This was one time I wished we didn't have it [the television], because with us sandwiched between Tennessee Tech and Murray State, they might have looked ahead," Garner said. "But no way are they not going to get after it on national TV."