Indians deliver KO early, roll through Tenn. State

Considering Tennessee State's struggles this season, Southeast Missouri State University entered Thursday night's game focused on burying the Tigers early and extinguishing any upset hopes they might have.

Mission accomplished -- in a big way.

The Indians built a 15-point lead after less than five minutes, moved ahead by 30 points at halftime and coasted to an 87-67 victory in front of an announced crowd of 3,897 at the Show Me Center.

Southeast, which broke a two-game losing streak, improved to 8-11 overall and 3-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference. TSU is 2-16 and 0-7 after suffering its 12th consecutive defeat.

"It was good to jump on them early," Southeast senior forward Tim Scheer said. "We knew if we let them get started, they had the talent to make it a really tough game for us or even beat us."

Scheer was as responsible as anybody for making sure the Indians would not be threatened by the Tigers, who lost their coach in early January. Nolan Richardson III resigned under pressure after he was accused of bringing a gun onto school property following an argument with an assistant coach.

Scheer poured in a career-high 32 points, 17 coming in the first half as the Indians got one wide-open shot after another. Scheer hit 11 of 15 field-goal attempts, including five of six 3-pointers, to easily surpass his previous high point total of 23.

"We shot probably the best we've shot all year in the first half," Scheer said. "I got quite a few open looks, and fortunately I knocked them down."

He wasn't the only one. Sophomore guard Brett Hale added 17 points, 15 in the first half, as he hit six of nine shots, including three of five 3-pointers. Hale also had four assists.

"I think that's the best we've shot all season in the first half," Hale said. "But I thought we also really picked it up on the defensive end."

Sophomore guard Derek Winans scored 13 points, 10 in the first half. He hit five of 10 shots, including two of four 3-pointers.

Junior center Brandon Griffin pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with eight points, three assists and three blocked shots. Griffin helped the Indians outrebound the Tigers 45 to 28.

"Coach has been emphasizing all week that they were pretty good, they had a lot of talent," Griffin said. "We wanted to get on them quick."

The Indians shot a sizzling 61.3 percent in the first half (19 of 31), including 66.7 percent from 3-point range (10 of 15), in piling up a 55-25 lead.

"Getting off to a good start was a big emphasis," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "They're struggling, but they've got good athletes. If you let a team like that hang around, they can be really dangerous.

"It was good to see us put it away early. We got a lot of good shots in the first half."

Southeast quickly went ahead 57-25 to start the second half and then pretty much put things in cruise control. TSU got no closer than 24 points until the final few minutes, after Garner had cleared his bench.

"I thought we got a lot of good performances from quite a few people," Garner said.

In addition to the obvious stars of the game, sophomore point guard Kevin Roberts continued his strong play in running the team by dishing out nine assists.

True freshman forward Cole Grapperhaus, who continues to show promise in limited minutes, scored a season-high six points, grabbed seven rebounds and wowed the home crowd with two dunks, one coming off a rebound.

"Cole has got a chance to be a good player for us," Garner said.

Garner also liked that seldom-used walk-ons John Boggio and Lawrence Graves both received extended playing time. Boggio, who had just seven points all season before Thursday, scored five points in six minutes. Graves played four minutes, although he failed to score.

"It's great to give guys like John Boggio and Lawrence Graves playing time, and not just a few seconds at the very end," Garner said.

Southeast's shooting dipped considerably in the second half, but the Indians still wound up at 52.6 percent for the game (30 of 57), including 52.4 percent on 3-pointers (11 of 21).

TSU, which shot 37.5 percent (24 of 64), was led by Brandon Lockridge with 11 points.

"It was a good game for us, and this should give us a good confidence boost going into Saturday," Scheer said.

The Indians host two-time defending OVC regular-season champion Tennessee Tech Saturday night.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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