Redhawks make it two straight with 80-65 victory

After Southeast Missouri State rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to win at Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, being down by one point at the intermission Thursday night must have seemed like nothing.

"We felt pretty good at halftime. We had a lot of confidence," freshman point guard Roderick Pearson said. "I think we're starting to become a second-half team."

That remains to be seen, but another huge final 20 minutes propelled the suddenly revived Redhawks to their second straight victory, 80-65 over visiting Eastern Illinois.

Two days after outscoring Eastern Kentucky 56-33 in the second half to end a six-game losing streak, the Redhawks hit the Panthers (5-11, 1-6 Ohio Valley Conference) with a 50-34 final-half barrage.

"We play a lot of people in the first half to try and fatigue the opponent," Southeast coach Scott Edgar said. "I think our opponents are getting tired.

"And when you make shots, you have a little bit more pep in your step."

For the second straight game, the Redhawks -- who struggled with their shooting for so much of the season -- shot the ball well, particularly in the second half.

Southeast (5-11, 3-4) shot 56 percent from the field in the final period and made eight of 13 3-pointers (61.5 percent).

"We swung the ball more against their zone and got good shots," Pearson said.

Also helping free up Southeast's outside shooters was the dominant performance of junior center Mike Rembert.

Rembert, a transfer from Bradley in his rookie season with the Redhawks, had the first double-double of his Southeast career with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He added three steals.

That performance came after he grabbed what was then a career-high 10 rebounds against Eastern Kentucky.

With Rembert controlling the boards, the Redhawks have outrebounded their last two opponents, including 38-29 Thursday. Before this week, Southeast had outrebounded just one team all season.

"Mike was phenomenal," Edgar said. "He played like an all-conference player tonight."

Rembert, who had 12 second-half points, was repeatedly fouled while going up strong for shots in close. He made just one of his first four free throws but finished 11 of 16 from the line.

"Just a lot of practice," said Rembert, explaining Southeast's recent improved free-throw shooting.

Things got so physical underneath, Rembert even had to receive a few stitches at halftime after taking a blow to the top of his head early in the game.

"I think I caught an elbow on the top of my head," Rembert said. "It was a pretty physical game."

But with a double-double -- and another Southeast victory -- in hand, he didn't mind a bit.

"Hopefully it's the first of many double-doubles and wins for us," Rembert said.

Senior guard Terrick Willoughby and junior guard David Johnson each scored 12 points for Southeast. Johnson also had three assists and blocked four shots.

Johnson had 11 points in the first half, while Willoughby had all of his points in the second half, when he made four of six 3-pointers.

Freshman forward Jajuan Maxwell, who has been a strong contributor off the bench all season, scored 11 points. Eight came in less than a minute during a key second-half stretch as Southeast took control.

"That's how Jajuan has been all year long," Edgar said. "He's hit big shots and he's really a team player."

Pearson continued his strong play since moving into the starting lineup with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and no turnovers.

A third freshman, Marcus Rhodes, scored all seven of his points in the second half, including a key 3-pointer.

Junior point guard Paul Paradoski, who had been the starter until suffering a knee injury and missing four games, saw his most extensive action since returning two games ago. He knocked down an important 3-pointer in the second half.

"I really liked the play we got from the point guard position," Edgar said. "Roderick and Paul compliment each other very well."

Southeast trailed by 10 points twice in the opening half, but Johnson's 25-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer pulled the Redhawks within 31-30.

"We felt pretty good after that shot," Maxwell said. "We came out strong in the second half."

The Redhawks grabbed their first lead since the game's opening 5 minutes on Maxwell's conventional three-point play that made it 41-39 with 13:45 seconds left.

After the Panthers pulled into a 41-41 tie, Maxwell's 3-pointer at the 13:17 mark put Southeast ahead for good at 44-41.

Maxwell's two free throws after a steal at the 12:54 mark completed his personal eight-point run and made it 46-41.

Leading 46-42, Southeast began to pull away as Rembert made two free throws and Rhodes drilled a long 3-pointer for a 51-42 advantage with 11:34 remaining.

The Panthers got no closer than seven points after that as the Redhawks steadily pulled away and led by double figures for virtually all of the last 10 minutes.

Southeast's biggest advantage was 17 points.

"We're starting to get it going," Maxwell said. "We're knocking down shots and playing defense."

Southeast wound up shooting 47.2 percent overall (25 of 53) and made 12 of 25 3-pointers (48 percent).

Eastern Illinois shot 42.3 percent (22 of 52), including only 40 percent in the second half.

"The last two games, teams have not shot the ball well against us in the second half, which I think is because they're getting tired against our style of play," Edgar said.

Even when the Redhawks were losing four straight OVC games, it didn't appear as if they were that far off from being a breaking through, since three of those defeats were by a total of seven points, including two on last-second shots.

"We've had it going, we just hadn't been able to convert, now it's just our time," Pearson said.

Edgar knows the Redhawks still have a long way to go, but he can at least begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"They're warriors ... we've lost some heart-breakers at home ... I saw this coming, but I saw it in the dark shadows of the Show Me Center [during practice]," Edgar said. "It's getting polished, but it's nowhere near a finished product.

"I said when I came here that there will be a point in time where we won't be a fun team to play against. We're getting closer to that."