Redhawks men slam Eagles

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team had lost all three of its home games to start the season, with every defeat coming against high-level opposition.

Southeast welcomed a lower-level opponent to the Show Me Center on Saturday night and the Redhawks finally were able to celebrate a victory on their own court.

And in record-setting fashion, no less.

The Redhawks took out their recent home-floor frustrations by crushing outmanned Williams Baptist 116-60.

Southeast, coming off Wednesday's 21-point home loss to powerhouse SIU, improved to 4-7 as the Redhawks surpassed their win total from last year's 3-27 campaign.

Southeast Missouri State's Cameron Butler shoots over Williams Baptist defender Kyle Harvey during the first half Saturday at the Show Me Center. (Fred Lynch)

Williams Baptist, an NAIA squad from Walnut Ridge, Ark., fell to 6-7.

"It was a good night," senior forward Jajuan Maxwell said. "We've got the four wins now, but we expect to go way past last year.

"Regardless of who we played, we wanted to get back to our defensive principles."

Southeast hit 16 of 29 3-pointers for a sizzling 55.2 percent. The 16 successful shots from beyond the arc tied the school single-game record previously set during the 1997-98 season.

The Redhawks also posted their largest margin of victory since moving to Division I.

"We needed it," Maxwell said. "We haven't had one of these where everybody is clicking on all cylinders."

All 14 Southeast players saw action in the opening half as the game quickly got out of hand. The Redhawks held a 59-26 lead at the break. All 14 players wound up scoring.

"We deserved one like that," said Southeast coach Dickey Nutt, whose squad has faced a rugged nonconference schedule.

Freshmen guards Derek Thompson, Marland Smith and Lucas Nutt highlighted the blowout.

Thompson had 15 first-half points as he missed just one of his six field-goal attempts while making all four of his 3-point shots.

Thompson finished with a game-high 23 points as he surpassed his previous collegiate high of 19. He hit 6 of 10 from beyond the arc and 7 of 12 overall.

"We needed a win, a confidence builder," Thompson said. "We started feeling it early."

Smith surpassed his previous collegiate high of 14 points by halftime as he had 15 points on his way to a total of 19 points. He made 8 of 16 shots and also dished out five assists.

"We tried to get it going, but the main focus was to get better on defense," Smith said. "We [he and Thompson] just happened to get some open shots. We both can knock it down."

Nutt, the coach's son, had his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 12 assists, to go along with four steals.

"I give Lucas all the credit in the world," Thompson said. "He's really a good point guard. He was finding us."

Said Dickey Nutt: "I was very proud of our young guys tonight, especially those three freshmen."

By halftime, the Redhawks already had tied their season high with eight 3-pointers.

Overall, Southeast shot 55.7 percent from the field, limited Williams Baptist to 36.5 percent, outrebounded the much smaller visitors 50-25 and forced 25 turnovers.

"We know what it feels like," Smith said of the lopsided contest. "We've been on the other end."

The Redhawks now have 10 days off before their next game, when they play at Memphis on Dec. 22.