Late drought dooms Redhawks

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team did plenty of things right in coming close to its second straight win.

But Eastern Michigan proved too tough down the stretch Tuesday night as the Eagles escaped the Show Me Center with an 86-76 victory.

The Eagles used a late 12-0 run to take control and beat the Redhawks two days after they ended the program's 21-game losing streak.

"We pretty much had confidence we could win this game," freshman guard Derek Thompson said. "It comes down to effort. They fought harder than we did down the stretch."

Southeast, coming off Sunday's 70-64 overtime win at Mid-American Conference member Northern Illinois, fell to 1-3. EMU, another MAC squad, improved to 3-2.

"We're getting better," said Southeast coach Dickey Nutt, whose team led by 11 points early in the second half before faltering. "I credit them. ... They certainly showed their experience. They used their two workhorses inside.

"We didn't match their toughness. That's a big issue right now. We're really going to work on our post defense."

The Redhawks had no answer for the workhorses Nutt referred to, EMU's strong inside tandem of 6-foot-6, 235-pound junior forward Brandon Bowdry and 6-8, 245-pound senior forward Justin Dobbins.

Despite playing just 21 minutes due to foul trouble -- only six minutes in the first half -- Bowdry scored a game-high 25 points, 17 after halftime and nine during the 12-0 burst that put EMU in control.

Bowdry, a returning all-MAC selection, entered the contest averaging 17.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.

"We didn't match his energy or physicality," senior forward LaMont Russell said.

Dobbins added 15 points as he and Bowdry combined to hit 15 of 25 field-goal attempts.

"They just manhandled us on the inside," said Nutt, whose squad was outrebounded 40-27 despite trailing by just one board at halftime. "We just couldn't contain their toughness and inside play."

EMU attempted 31 free throws compared to eight for Southeast as the Redhawks were whistled for 29 fouls to 16 for the Eagles.

Nutt said EMU's strength inside -- especially Bowdry, who shot 12 free throws -- helped cause the foul differential, but he acknowledged that fouling is a problem for Southeast right now.

"We've got to stop fouling as a team," Nutt said.

Junior guard Sam Pearson, who had scored a total of 13 points in the first three games, led Southeast with 17 points. He hit 7 of 14 shots, most on aggressive drives to the basket.

"It was just basically the flow of the game," Pearson, who led Southeast with five assists, said of his offensive outburst.

Thompson, who paced the win at Northern Illinois with 19 points, followed up with 15 points against EMU. Twelve came in the first half.

Russell scored 10 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds despite having to come out once with a bloody nose. He hit all five of his field-goal attempts

"LaMont is starting to be our workhorse," Nutt said. "He showed his toughness with that bloody nose."

Freshman guard Marland Smith added 10 points while freshman guard Lucas Nutt contributed seven points and four assists in his second collegiate game after returning from back problems.

Southeast was hurt by junior forward Cameron Butler and junior point guard Anthony Allison -- two of the Redhawks' leaders -- having their minutes limited due to foul trouble.

Butler played just four second-half minutes and 20 total before fouling out. Allison also played only four second-half minutes and 19 total before fouling out. He was hit with a technical early in the final period.

"When Cameron and Anthony went out [both with more than eight minutes left]. ... we really look up to them. They're our leaders," Pearson said. "But we could have kept our focus."

The first half was an offensive show as EMU shot 64 percent and Southeast 60.7 percent. The Redhawks scored the final six points of the period to lead 41-40.

Southeast came out strong to start the second half, scoring the first 10 points to go up 51-40.

The Redhawks were holding on to a 70-67 lead with under eight minutes left when they went scoreless for more than five minutes. EMU put up 12 straight points to take command.

Trailing 79-70 with a little more than two minutes left, Southeast got within 79-74 but the Eagles iced the victory by making 7 of 8 free throws.

"It's a tough loss," Pearson said.

But not one without bright spots as the Redhawks' offensive continues to improve. Southeast shot 49.2 percent, after shooting 48.1 percent at Northern Illinois. The Redhawks were at less than 30 percent after two games.

"It's very encouraging," Nutt said. "We're screening and executing, making shots, and we were able to get some easy baskets."

The Redhawks return to action Friday against St. Bonaventure, among three games they'll play in three days during the Basketball Travelers Classic in Normal, Ill.