Redhawks busted by La. Tech in BracketBuster showdown

~ Southeast was beaten 72-56in its final home game.

It was certainly not the type of performance Southeast Missouri State wanted in its home finale.

About the only consolation in Saturday's 72-56 drubbing at the hands of Louisiana Tech is that the loss does not go on Southeast's Ohio Valley Conference record.

Other than that, it was a fairly miserable night for the Redhawks, who fell to 10-18 with their third consecutive loss.

"It's very disappointing, to us and the fans," said senior center Tyrell White, who joined senior guard Terrick Willoughby in making their final Show Me Center appearances. "Louisiana Tech is a good team, but we just didn't play as a team tonight."

Southeast Missouri State senior Tyrell White started his final home game at the Show Me Center on Saturday. The Redhawks lost to Louisiana Tech. (Kit Doyle)

Added freshman point guard Roderick Pearson: "I just think we didn't play as hard as we should have. I really wanted to send both Tyrell and Terrick out with a win in their final game in this building."

Southeast first-year coach Scott Edgar also expressed disappointment after his team continued its late-season struggles.

Edgar said he was a bit surprised that the Redhawks were not more competitive on their home floor against the Bulldogs (9-17).

But Edgar also acknowledged the different levels of the leagues involved as the Redhawks and Bulldogs squared off in the BracketBuster series.

Louisiana Tech competes in the Western Athletic Conference, which is ranked ninth among the nation's 32 Division I leagues. The OVC is rated 24th.

"There's a huge difference [in the conferences]," Edgar said. "They have more athleticism than any OVC team and they are more physical than any OVC team. I think that knocked us back on our heels."

That being said, the Redhawks no doubt expected better than a performance in which they never led and trailed by at least 15 points for virtually all of the second half.

"I'm a little surprised, because we have been down at halftime before and come back," Edgar said.

It's hard to make a comeback, though, when a team shoots just 31.4 percent from the field (16 of 51) and makes only three of 19 3-pointers (15.8 percent).

Throw in 20 turnovers against only four assists and that task becomes even more difficult.

Those were just some of Southeast's key statistics Saturday.

On the other hand, the Bulldogs shot 48.3 percent -- including 54.2 percent in the second half -- even though they entered play hitting just 39.8 percent from the floor on the season.

Probably the only reason the game wasn't even more lopsided: The Redhawks made and attempted more than twice as many free throws as the Bulldogs.

Southeast was 21 of 34 from the line, compared to 10 of 16 for Louisiana Tech.

From an early 5-5 tie, the Bulldogs spurted to a 19-9 lead and Southeast faced an uphill battle the rest of the night.

It was 37-26 at halftime. The Bulldogs scored the first five points of the second half to go ahead 42-26, and Southeast never got closer than 14 points. Louisiana Tech's largest advantage was 23 points, twice.

Southeast, which was held to its lowest point total since a 65-45 loss at Evansville on Nov. 27, had only one double-figure scorer.

Junior forward Dionte Perry led the Redhawks with 11 points off the bench. Freshman forward Jajuan Maxwell grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.

Senior forward Chad McKenzie led the Bulldogs with 17 points.

The Redhawks were among eight OVC teams that lost BracketBuster games Saturday. The league posted only three wins.