Redhawks drop eighth straight on last-second shot

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team finally got Calvin Williams back.

Yet the losing streak continued for the Redhawks on Saturday night -- and in gut-wrenching fashion.

The Redhawks staged several furious comebacks only to see Eastern Kentucky's Mike Rose hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Instead of jubilation at the Show Me Center, it was heart-break following a 74-71 defeat.

"It hurts, but that's part of basketball," said Williams, a 6-foot-9 junior center who missed the past two games with an ankle injury.

Senior forward Jaycen Herring, who scored a season-high 25 points, was asked if the frustrating result summed up Southeast's campaign so far.

"I guess you could say that," Herring said. "We've been close and close and battling. The only closer we can get is to win one."

Southeast fell to 3-16 overall and 0-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference as the Redhawks suffered their eighth straight loss.

The Redhawks, despite falling behind 12-0 to start the game and 33-16 later in the first half, continued their recent trend of spirited play.

Southeast went ahead 56-52 at one point in the second half, but fell behind 70-62 with a little more than two minutes remaining.

Things looked bleak, but the Redhawks scored nine of the next 10 points and pulled into a 71-71 tie as Herring followed up his own miss with 3.5 seconds remaining.

Overtime appeared a strong possibility -- until the OVC's top 3-point shooter stuck a dagger in Southeast.

Rose, a 6-3 senior guard, had plenty of help.

Justin Stommes heaved a long inbound pass from under his own basket that Josh Taylor made a nice catch of just past mid-court along the right sideline.

Taylor quickly fired a pass to a wide-open Rose in the corner and his jumper swished through the basket just before the buzzer sounded.

"I knew if I caught it I had the confidence it would be good," said Rose, who entered the night shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range and averaging 20.5 points to rank second in the OVC. "I didn't expect to get that clean a look."

Said Southeast junior point guard Bijon Jones of the final play: "The guy [Taylor] caught it. You have to give credit to him. He saw the open man, and [Rose] just knocked down a clutch shot."

After the officials reviewed the replay monitor, they placed two-tenths of a second on the clock, but senior guard Kenard Moore's half-court desperation heave failed to draw iron.

"It's tough, when you play hard and work hard," Jones said. "It hurts, but we just have to play a little bit harder, take care of the ball better down the stretch."

Williams, who ranks among the OVC leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, made a big impact in his return.

Despite not starting, Williams had 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds in 28 minutes.

"He's a force inside. It was nice to have him," Herring said.

Moore scored 13 points, while Jones had the best game of his rookie season at Southeast. The junior college transfer reached Division I career highs with 11 points and five assists.

Rose paced EKU (10-8, 4-4) with 19 points. He hit 5 of 11 3-pointers as the Colonels were 14 of 36 from behind the arc.

The Colonels got a big lift from reserve junior guard Robin Mestdagh, who was averaging 1.2 points. Mestdagh scored a career-high 13 points, 12 in the first half as he hit all four of his 3-pointers. He had scored 14 points all season.

EKU coach Jeff Neubauer lauded the performance of the Redhawks, who have only eight available scholarship players. Herring and Moore both played 40 minutes.

"SEMO is really competing. They're still fighting," Neubauer said. "Their kids played hard. Their effort was good enough to win."

Southeast acting coach Zac Roman has had few complaints about the Redhawks' effort all season, and certainly not after Saturday's showing.

"I'm just proud of our guys," Roman said. "The last three games, we're getting better every game.

"We're right there."

Southeast, which finished up a four-game homestand, plays its next two games on the road, Thursday at Tennessee-Martin and Saturday at Murray State.