Redhawks stop Tennessee-Martin

~ Southeast beat Tennessee-Martin 77-63 to move to 3-5 in the conference

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team, reeling with a three-game losing streak and without one of its top players, felt the urgency of the situation.

"I felt tonight was a must-win game," first-year coach Dickey Nutt said. "I never like to put that in anybody's lap, but it was."

Southeast delivered with one of its strongest performances this season, rolling past visiting Tennessee-Martin 77-63 on Thursday night.

"We played well as a team," junior guard Anthony Allison said. "It was a big win. We lost three in a row and we needed to come back strong."

Southeast Missouri State's Sam Pearson, right, drives the ball past UT Martin defender Catarius Taylor Thursday, January 21, 2010 at the Show Me Center. (LAURA SIMON)

Not only did the Redhawks notch their third Ohio Valley Conference victory, they also earned their first triumph without junior forward Cameron Butler.

Butler, Southeast's No. 2 scorer and rebounder, missed his third straight game with a foot injury. He is expected to miss up to a couple more weeks.

"I thought we took a step forward without Cameron," Nutt said.

Southeast hardly missed Butler against UTM (2-15, 0-8), the OVC's last-place team that has not beaten a Division I squad this season.

The Redhawks improved to 6-12 overall as they doubled their win total from last year. Southeast is 3-5 in OVC play after a winless conference season in 2008-09.

"I was very pleased with our effort top to bottom," said Nutt, whose squad is tied for seventh place in the 10-team OVC. "Winning is precious. Every win is a great win."

Southeast shot 50 percent from the field, matching its season high against a Division I opponent. The Redhawks outscored UTM 38-20 in the paint by consistently driving the ball to the basket.

"We did not want to settle for jump shots," Nutt said.

The Redhawks had a season-low 11 turnovers, outrebounded UTM 36-29 and limited the Skyhawks to 38.3-percent shooting.

Five Southeast players scored in double figures, led by Allison with 18 points. Allison scored 12 second-half points.

Allison, among the OVC's top 3-point shooters, hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

Junior guard Sam Pearson scored 14 points, 10 in the second half. He added a team-high six assists.

"Sam and Anthony were really good," Nutt said. "Anthony hit some big shots in the second half and I thought Sam really controlled the game."

Freshman guard Marland Smith scored 14 points, 10 in the first half. He also pulled down a season-high nine rebounds.

"Nine rebounds for one of the smallest guys on the court," Nutt said. "That's outstanding."

Senior forward LaMont Russell had his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. He entered play as the OVC's No. 5 rebounder with a 6.4 average.

"I like rebounding," Russell said. "Coach says go out and rebound and play defense."

Senior wing Johnny Hill contributed a season-high 11 points and his normal hard-nosed defense in his fourth start of the season.

Hill gave the Redhawks an early boost with six points in the opening 10 minutes, four coming on two strong drives to the basket.

"I thought I needed to be more aggressive, especially on the defensive end," Hill said.

Hill, who made all five of his field-goal attempts, had been averaging 1.4 points per game and his previous season high had been four points. But he said he took no special pleasure in Thursday's offensive outburst.

"It's not a big deal," he said. "I just want us to win. It's all about winning for us."

Russell and Hill are two of Southeast's four returning players from last season, along with senior center Israel Kirk and junior forward Jajuan Maxwell. Nutt takes special pride that they finally are experiencing some team success.

"LaMont and Johnny were outstanding tonight," Nutt said. "I'm really pleased for those four guys."

Southeast, which trailed briefly in the first half, built a 37-28 halftime lead and quickly built it to 43-29 early in the second half.

UTM pulled within 49-42, but an 11-2 Southeast run opened a 60-44 advantage with just less than 11 minutes left. The Redhawks stayed ahead by at least 12 points after that.

The Redhawks close out their two-game homestand Saturday against first-place Murray State (17-3, 9-0).

"They're a special team and we're going to have to play a special game to have a chance," Nutt said. "But like I told our team, let's see what the best has to offer."