Redhawks flash potential in loss to Missouri

If fans of the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team thought the sky had fallen after last Monday's exhibition loss to Division II Harding, at least they should be encouraged by Friday's season opener.

Sure, it was a loss, 83-68 at 25th-ranked Missouri, but the Redhawks looked infinitely better than they did against Harding.

Southeast made MU sweat much of the way, leading by six points late in the first half and trailing by just two points at halftime, before the explosive Tigers pulled away.

Along with an improved collective performance, there were numerous individual bright spots, including several by Redhawks rookies.

Sophomore forward Tyler Stone, who saw limited action at MU in 2009-10 before transferring, continued to demonstrate that he has a chance to be a force in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Stone led Southeast with 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. He also scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the exhibition contest.

Senior guard Marcus Brister continued the solid play he exhibited toward the end of last year with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. He committed just two turnovers.

Freshman forward Nino Johnson was impressive in his collegiate debut with 11 points, a team-high seven rebounds and two highlight-reel plays in the first half.

Johnson threw down a follow dunk, then several minutes later turned in a sequence that featured a steal, a behind-the-back dribble and a no-look pass to junior guard Marland Smith for a layup.

Southeast's other true freshman from Memphis, guard Telvin Wilkerson, also continues to show that he has a bright future. Wilkerson was solid in 22 minutes.

Some other Southeast players -- only eight saw action -- also performed well.

And as many bright spots as there were, perhaps the best news to come out of last week was that star senior forward Leon Powell suffered no structural damage to his left knee.

Powell injured the knee early in the exhibition loss to Harding. It's the same knee in which Powell suffered a torn ACL that forced him to miss the entire 2009-10 campaign.

While many Southeast fans feared the worst, an MRI revealed the best possible news. Powell was immediately listed as day-to-day and, even though he did not play against MU, he should return soon.

Powell could see action tonight when Southeast plays its home opener against NAIA Harris-Stowe. If not, he definitely should be back when the Redhawks visit Bradley on Wednesday night.

Although the Redhawks do have solid depth up front, it would be hard to imagine them having any type of breakthrough season without their top player, who led the nation in field-goal percentage last year.

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Last week's signing of point guard C.J. Reese by the Southeast men's basketball program ranks with landing Johnson last year.

Reese, like Johnson, received interest from major programs, and his signing, like Johnson's, was considered a coup for Southeast.

Reese is rated by ESPN to be among the nation's top 100 high school point guards. ESPN also ranks Reese a two-star recruit and the ninth-best player in Tennessee. Reese plays high school basketball in Chattanooga, Tenn., but originally is from Atlanta,

Time will tell if his game matches the hype.

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The Southeast football team ends the season Saturday when rival Murray State visits Houck Stadium on senior day.

Hopefully a nice crowd will turn out to honor a group of seniors that, while not particularly large in numbers, meant a lot to last year's record-setting campaign that featured the program's first OVC title and first playoff berth.

Topping the list is quarterback Matt Scheible, who ranks among the premier signal callers in Southeast history. He's been a total class act on and off the field.

Southeast (3-7) wasn't able to follow up on its historic 2010 season with another winning record, but it hasn't been for a lack of effort.

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The OVC football champion will have more than one loss for just the third time.

Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State are in a three-way tie for first place at 5-2 with one game left.

Tech will receive the OVC's automatic playoff berth if it beats visiting Austin Peay on Saturday because the Eagles own victories over both EKU and JSU.

Even if that happens, either EKU or JSU have a shot to receive an at-large playoff bid.

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Congratulations to the Southeast volleyball team for qualifying for the OVC tournament for the first time since 2008.

The Redhawks have had an impressive turnaround season under first-year coach Julie Folliard, who took over a struggling program that failed to make the OVC tournament the past two years.

Southeast finished fourth in the 11-team OVC this season after it placed ninth in 2010.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.