LOUISVILLE SLUGS SE, WINS 91-69

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Gary Garner said prior to Monday night's game that Louisville would probably be the most talented team his Indians would face all season.

Then the Cardinals went out and proved it by hammering the Indians 91-69 in front of 18,892 fans at Freedom Hall.

Louisville, which was coming off an upset victory over Kentucky, improved to 5-6. All six of the Cardinals' losses have been to teams ranked in the nation's top 25.

Southeast fell to 5-5 as the Indians played their final non-conference game of the season.

"I'm always down and disappointed when we lose, but I'm not disappointed with our team right now. They gave a great effort," said Garner after the contest. "Louisville has great athletes and they're very well coached."

Nate Johnson scored 16 points to lead a balanced Louisville offensive attack. Marques Maybin had 15 while Damion Dantzler and Tony Williams added 14 apiece.

The Indians got a game-high 23 points from point guard Kahn Cotton, who played all 40 minutes. Demetrius Watson continued his strong play since moving into the starting lineup three games ago by scoring 17 points. Watson hit seven of 11 shots from the field.

David Montgomery added 11 points for the Indians.

Southeast turned the ball over 22 times against Louisville's full-court pressure, which severely hampered the Indians' chances of an upset.

"We're not going to come in here and win with 22 turnovers, and most of them were forced turnovers," Garner said. "They have a tremendous press and they pressed us for 40 minutes.

"We come in here thinking we can win, but I know everything has to go right. Our margin of error, especially with Bud (Eley) out, is small. We have to play very well in every area of the game."

Eley, the Indians' 6-foot-10 center, missed his third straight game after suffering a broken foot on Dec. 11. He is expected to be out at least a few more games.

And speaking of injuries, midway through the second half, the 6-8 Montgomery suffered a sprained ankle. He had to be helped off the court and did not return.

Watson also twisted his knee a short time later and did not return, although he appeared to be fine after the game. Montgomery, however, was a different matter.

"I think Demetrius is okay. He twisted his knee a little bit, but I think he could have come back in, but with the score like it was, there was no reason to take a chance," said Garner. "David sprained his ankle pretty good. It's already swollen pretty badly. It's a very big concern."

The Indians stayed with the Cardinals in the early going and led a few times, including 12-8 after Cotton's 3-pointer.

But Louisville used an 8-0 run to start taking control of the game. With Johnson scoring 10 of his team's first 16 points, the Cardinals grabbed a 16-12 advantage.

Maybin's 3-pointer put the Cardinals ahead 19-14. Southeast cut the deficit to 19-16, but Louisville got six quick points to go ahead 25-16.

Williams' basket gave the Cardinals a 29-18 lead and then Alex Sanders bombed home a 3-pointer as Louisville completed an overall 24-6 run to open up a 32-18 bulge.

A 7-0 Southeast run that featured five points from Cotton brought the Indians back to within 32-25.

But the Cardinals took control again and Troy Jackson's inside basket at the buzzer gave Louisville a 41-29 halftime lead.

Louisville kept up the pressure to start the second half. Maybin's 3-pointer made it 44-29 and Dantzler's basket put the Cardinals ahead 49-31.

Southeast never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way. Louisville continued to surge and led by as many as 32 points before the Indians made things a bit more respectable in the closing moments.

Now the Indians will set their sights on a big two-game Ohio Valley Conference road trip to Kentucky this weekend. Southeast will face Morehead State Saturday and Eastern Kentucky Monday.