Indians bounce Kangaroos

Mike Nelke came to Southeast Missouri State University with a reputation as a long-range bomber supreme, but the Valparaiso transfer had been struggling with his shot through the first five games of the season.

Nelke finally found his range Saturday night as he came off the bench to hit two key 3-pointers in the first half, helping spark the Indians to a surprisingly easy 80-63 victory over Missouri-Kansas City in front of 3,851 fans at the Show Me Center.

The Indians improved to 4-2 and dropped the Kangaroos to 2-3.

Nelke, a junior guard who practiced with the Indians last season but could not play in games under NCAA transfer rules, entered Saturday's contest having connected on just two of 13 3-point attempts.

He came into the game early and paid almost immediate dividends, hitting a 3-pointer with 13:37 remaining in the first half that put the Indians up 11-9. They never trailed again.

Another Nelke 3-pointer with 2:47 left before halftime made it 34-26 and the Indians carried a a 36-28 lead into the break. UMKC never got closer as Southeast steadily pulled away in the second half.

"It felt great. It's about time I hit some shots," said a smiling Nelke. "Hopefully this is just the beginning."

Nelke's final statistical line was not overwhelming -- he finished with 10 points on three of six shooting, including two of four 3-pointers -- but his impact on the game was strong.

"Mike came in and really gave us a lift," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "It was just a matter of time before he started shooting the ball. This will give him some confidence."

There were many other impressive performances for the Indians as they ran away from a UMKC squad that recently lost at Minnesota by just 11 points.

Junior forward Dainmon Gonner, the Indians' leading scorer on the season, scored 15 points and had seven rebounds.

Junior guard Derek Winans, the Copi-Rite player of the game, hit four of seven 3-pointers and scored 15 points.

Also scoring in double figures were senior center Brandon Griffin with 11 points and junior guard Brett Hale with 10. Griffin added seven rebounds.

"We expected a close game. We knew it wouldn't be easy," Griffin said. "But we played a good game."

Southeast also got a boost from junior forward Reggie Golson, whose progress has been slowed by an ankle injury that forced him to miss about three weeks of practice.

While now healthy, Golson has had a hard time meshing with the rest of the team and he played just three minutes combined in the last two games.

But Golson, a native of Kansas City, Kan. -- an older brother used to play for the Kangaroos -- got 22 minutes Saturday. He scored nine points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds as Southeast dominated the boards 44-27.

"It's been frustrating. I've been trying to take it in stride, but this felt really good," Golson said, flashing a big grin. "I've got a lot of roots at UMKC, so it's good to beat them."

It was an overall strong game by the Indians, who shot 50.9 percent (28 of 55) and had just 12 turnovers. They were also solid defensively, holding the Kangaroos to 37.3-percent shooting (22 of 59). Senior guard Michael Watson led UMKC with 22 points.

"They're a very talented team," Garner said of UMKC. "I really thought this was going to be a close game."

The Indians, whose biggest lead was 24 points, were even able to thrive when Gonner spent a good part of the second half on the bench with four fouls.

Gonner went to the sidelines with 12:50 remaining after being whistled for his fourth foul. The Indians' lead was not all that comfortable at 52-43.

But the Indians immediately went on a 15-2 run to go up 67-45 with 10 minutes left and effectively seal the verdict. With Southeast clicking so well, Gonner never even came back into the game.

"We've got a lot of weapons. That's the strength of our team," Nelke said.

Southeast returns to action Tuesday night at Arkansas.