Indians tumble after Arkansas rally

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- For the first half, Southeast Missouri State University's Indians played about as well as they possibly could and had the Arkansas Razorbacks wondering what hit them.

But the Indians couldn't keep up their torrid pace, and the Razorbacks avoided a major upset by rallying for a 78-68 victory in front of 10,419 fans Tuesday at Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas, which has lost only to Illinois, improved to 5-1. Southeast fell to 4-3 -- but not before the Indians put a scare into the heavily favored Razorbacks.

Southeast, while taking care of the ball and executing its offense almost flawlessly, built a 15-point first-half lead and carried a 10-point advantage into the locker room.

The Indians held off Arkansas for quite a while in the second half before the Razorbacks finally cranked up their offense and took control, although they never totally shook Southeast.

"I don't think we could have played much better in the first half," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "We really executed our offense and did what we wanted to do.

"I had a good feeling before the game and thought we would play well. I'm really proud of my players. They gave a great effort, and we really hung in there."

The Indians struggled from the charity stripe, hitting just 13 of 25.

"In a game like this, that's critical," Garner said. "It probably cost us the game."

Dainmon Gonner led the Indians with 20 points. Brandon Griffin scored 16 points, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and led in assists with four.

"We played really hard, and we thought we could beat them," Gonner said. "They got us in the second half, but we never quit."

Arkansas was led by sophomore guard Jonathon Modica with 20 points. Sophomore guard Eric Ferguson had 18 points, one of five Razorbacks in double figures.

"I knew Southeast Missouri was a dangerous team," Arkansas coach Stan Heath said. "I'm proud of my guys for battling back."

Southeast shot 53.8 percent (14 of 26) in the first half and hit six of nine 3-pointers to carry a 41-31 lead into halftime. The Indians had nine turnovers, most of those coming late when Arkansas began to turn up its pressure defense.

The Indians' halftime lead could have been even bigger, but they hit just seven of 13 free throws.

Arkansas hit its first three shots to go up 7-5, but then it was all Southeast. Gonner scored eight points and freshman Terrick Willoughby had five during a 19-4 run by the Indians that gave them a 24-11 lead with 12:13 left before halftime.

When Brett Hale hit two free throws at the 7:16 mark, the Indians had a 33-18 advantage and the fans at Bud Walton Arena sat in stunned silence.

The Razorbacks made several runs toward the end of the half, but the Indians answered every charge and led by 10 at the break. Gonner had 12 first-half points, Willoughby had eight, Hale added seven and Griffin grabbed eight rebounds.

"We played a really good first half," Griffin said. "We were really prepared for the game, and we thought we could beat them."

The Razorbacks came out strong in the second half. The Indians were able to fend them off for a while but not for good.

Southeast held a 56-52 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining when Arkansas hit the Indians with a game-turning 13-0 run. Freshman Olu Famutimi's 3-pointer with 10:41 left put the Razorbacks up 59-56 for their first lead since the game's early moments.

By the time the Razorbacks finished their spurt, they led 65-56. Southeast pulled to within 71-67 on a Griffin follow shot with 1:05 to go, but the Razorbacks held on.

"They probably wore us down," Garner said. "But if we make our free throws, we're right there."

Southeast's shooting faltered in the second half at 37 percent (10 of 27) and the Indians finished at 45.3 percent (24 of 53). Southeast finished with 17 turnovers.

Arkansas shot 45.5 percent for the game (25 of 55), including 48.3 percent in the second half (14 of 29). The Razorbacks made 18 of 27 free throws and had 17 turnovers.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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