Morehead State ends Redhawks' OVC winning streak

The Morehead State men's basketball team entered Thursday night's game at the Show Me Center boasting two of the Ohio Valley Conference's top three scorers.

Neither did a considerable amount of damage but that was of little consolation to Southeast Missouri State.

MSU took control of a tight contest early in the second half, rolling to a 76-63 victory and ending Southeast's four-game OVC winning streak that had been its longest since the 2004-05 season.

Southeast (5-12, 4-3) fell to sixth place in the 10-team league after entering the night tied for second, although the Redhawks trail the second-place Eagles (12-6, 5-2) by just one game.

"We were beaten by a better team tonight," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "They're good."

Southeast Missouri State's Marland Smith drives down the court as Morehead State's Reggie Williams plays defense during the first half of a game on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011, at the Show Me Center. SEMO lost 76-63. (Kristin Eberts)

Kenneth Faried, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound senior forward who is projected as a potential first-round NBA draft pick, entered play as the OVC's top scorer with an 18.8 average while leading the nation in rebounding (13.8).

Senior guard Demonte Harper came into the contest as the OVC's No. 3 scorer with a 17.5 average.

Faried and Harper scored just 11 points apiece, with Faried being denied his usual double-double as he pulled down nine rebounds.

"If you had told me going in that was going to be their numbers I would have felt good," Nutt said.

But the Eagles' other players picked up the slack, led by senior guard Sam Goodman and sophomore forward Drew Kelly.

Southeast Missouri State's Lucas Nutt works to keep his dribble after tripping over Morehead State's Drew Kelly during the first half Thursday at the Show Me Center. (Kristin Eberts)

Goodman, averaging 8.6 points, scored a team-high 16. Kelly, averaging 3.4 points, chipped in 11.

"Even though Kenneth and Demonte didn't have their best nights, Drew stepped up and Sam played like an all-conference player," said MSU coach Donnie Tyndall, whose squad was second in the OVC last year after making the 2008-09 NCAA tournament.

Junior guard Terrance Hill added 12 points for the Eagles. He was averaging 10.5.

Junior forward Leon Powell paced Southeast with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Redshirt freshman point guard Lucas Nutt scored 14 points, 12 in the first half when he hit all four of his 3-point attempts.

Senior guard Anthony Allison had 12 points and sophomore guard Marland Smith added 10.

"They just played hard 40 minutes and we didn't play hard the whole 40 minutes," Powell said. "We played hard in spurts. If we had played hard the whole 40 minutes, it would have been a different story."

Allison agreed with Powell that the Eagles displayed more effort and energy from start to finish.

"They're a good team. You can't take it away from them," Allison said. "But it would have been a lot closer if we would have played the whole 40 minutes like they did."

The Redhawks led much of the first half, their largest advantage being 25-18, before MSU rallied for a 41-37 edge at the break.

Faried, who had just four points and one rebound in the opening period, took over at the start of the second half to help turn the game in MSU's favor.

Faried had three straight baskets after he grabbed offensive rebounds in the opening two minutes of the final period.

That outburst put the Eagles up 47-37, and Southeast never recovered. The Redhawks got no closer than eight points, and MSU led by at least 10 points for the final 15-plus minutes, its largest margin 19 points.

"I thought the difference in the game was the first five minutes of the second half," Nutt said. "He [Faried] makes everybody around him so much better because you have to pay so much attention to him." Nutt didn't like the way the Redhawks performed defensively after MSU shot 50.9 percent, including 52.2 percent in the second half.

Southeast shot 38.2 percent in the game, 33.3 percent after halftime. The Redhawks had 16 turnovers compared to 14 for MSU but were outscored 27-10 in points off turnovers.

MSU also had a 38-16 edge in points in the paint.

"I thought maybe our press wore them down a bit in the second half," Tyndall said.

Tyndall still came away impressed with Southeast, which already has surpassed its OVC win total from Nutt's first season last year.

"Southeast Missouri is dramatically improved," Tyndall said. "Coach Nutt obviously has the program in the right direction."

The Redhawks conclude their four-game OVC homestand Saturday against seventh-place Eastern Kentucky (8-9, 3-4) in a 4 p.m. tipoff. The Colonels are just one game behind Southeast.