Injuries hamper Southeast basketball teams

The Southeast Missouri State basketball teams figured to have challenging seasons this year.

Bad luck with injuries has made the challenges even greater for both squads.

It's hard to imagine any women's team across the country being more snakebit than Southeast, which currently is playing without its top three scorers.

Leading scorer Jasmine Davis and third-leading scorer Lauren Sharpe have missed the past five games.

Davis, a freshman guard, is out for the season with a knee injury. Sharpe, a junior wing, likely will miss the rest of the campaign with back problems that eventually will require surgery.

Freshman forward Bailie Roberts -- Southeast's No. 2 scorer and top 3-point shooter -- has missed the past two games with a foot injury that could sideline her for several more contests.

On the men's side, junior forward Cameron Butler -- the Redhawks' No. 2 scorer and rebounder overall, but their top scorer in conference play -- has missed the past four games with a foot injury that is likely to sideline him for a while longer.

That's in addition to freshman Lucas Nutt, a valuable backup who is Southeast's best pure point guard, suffering a season-ending broken foot several weeks ago.

And don't forget junior college transfer forward Leon Powell, Southeast's top recruit who was expected to be the Redhawks' best player.

Powell never even got to practice with the team after suffering a knee injury during an offseason pickup game. He won't suit up for the Redhawks until next season.

Despite all that, Southeast squads continue to hold their own, although the going has been a bit rough lately as each side has lost four of its past five games.

But, halfway through their 18-game Ohio Valley Conference schedules, both are on pace to qualify for the eight-team OVC tournament. The men are eighth in the 10-team OVC, with the women are tied for seventh.

And both squads should have a chance to move up in the standings down the stretch because, after this week's road trip to Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech, they play five of their final seven OVC games at home.

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Southeast's men had a strong performance during Thursday's 77-63 win over visiting Tennessee-Martin.

I know UT-Martin is bad this season, but I was impressed by the way the Redhawks took care of business against the OVC's last-place team.

To be honest, I assumed any OVC wins the Redhawks got this year would hang in the balance late, as was the case with their first two conference victories.

That wasn't the case against UT-Martin as Southeast led most of the way and was in control basically the entire second half.

Despite Saturday's 80-61 home loss to powerhouse Murray State -- Southeast had a solid performance and hung with the Racers for quite a while -- first-year coach Dickey Nutt's rebuilding Redhawks are 6-13 overall and 3-6 in OVC play.

That might not sound like much, but consider how far the Redhawks have come in a short period of time.

The Redhawks didn't win a league game last season and already have doubled their overall win total from a year ago. They're doing better than most people expected, myself included, after being picked to finish in the OVC basement.

There is plenty of basketball to be played, but if the season ended today, Nutt would have to get at least some consideration for OVC coach of the year.

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In my mind, the regular-season game of the year for area high school boys basketball will take place Tuesday night when Notre Dame visits Scott County Central.

Defending Class 1 state champion Scott Central has won 15 straight since a season-opening loss to national power Dallas Lincoln. The Braves hardly have been challenged by a local team.

Notre Dame (13-4) has posted six straight victories and appears to be playing its best ball of the year. The Bulldogs are looking more and more like a state Class 4 contender.

Scott Central's gym should be filled to the rafters and I'll be surprised if the Braves lose. But if any area squad can threaten the upset, it's probably Notre Dame.

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Former Notre Dame basketball standout Ryan Willen recently had a sizzling two-week stretch for Lafayette College.

Willen, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward for the Division I program in Easton, Pa., earned Patriot League player of the week honors two straight times.

That came during a four-game stretch when Willen averaged 23 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Willen is third on the team in scoring (11.8) and second in rebounding (4.5). In conference play he leads the squad with averages of 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, both figures ranking in the league's top 10.

Willen, who averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds as a freshman to earn Patriot League all-rookie honors, has helped lead Lafayette (13-7, 4-1) to a tie for first place in the conference.

Willen also is shining in the classroom. The Biology major posted a 3.42 grade point average in the fall semester.

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Southeast Missouri State athletes notched a cumulative 3.12 GPA during the fall 2009 semester, their highest ever for a fall term.

Eleven of Southeast's 15 programs recorded a team GPA of 3.0 or better, with gymnastics leading the way at 3.89.

Volleyball was next at 3.485, followed by men's cross country (3.415), soccer (3.401), women's cross country (3.394), women's track and field (3.347), baseball (3.318), tennis (3.258), softball (3.126), women's basketball (3.101) and men's track and field (3.037).

A total of 207 Southeast athletes recorded at least a 3.0 GPA for the fall term and 50 finished with a perfect 4.0.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.