Redhawks unable to dig out against EIU

~ Southeast fell behind 20-4 and never recovered.

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State's first-half performance Tuesday night was about as miserable as the weather outside.

With central Illinois hit by a severe snowstorm, less then 900 fans -- most of them students -- made it to Lantz Arena, although that was a fairly impressive turnout given the circumstances.

Unfortunately for Southeast, a national television audience on ESPNU got to watch as host Eastern Illinois built an 18-point halftime lead on its way to a 77-69 victory.

"I don't know what was wrong with us," Southeast guard Paul Paradoski said. "That start was rough."

EIU (9-18, 5-13) entered play as the Ohio Valley Conference's last-place team, and the Panthers had been blistered by the Redhawks 80-65 on Jan. 4 in Cape Girardeau.

But the Panthers resembled an OVC power in the early going against Southeast, scoring 16 of the game's first 20 points and never letting the lead dip into single digits until less than 3 minutes remained.

"Obviously the start of the game was our worst of the season, getting down 20-4," Southeast coach Scott Edgar said.

The Redhawks (10-17, 8-10) remained in sixth place in the 11-team OVC with their second straight loss.

With two conference games left -- both on the road -- Southeast has still not clinched a berth in the eight-team league tournament.

EIU scored the first four points, Southeast tied it at 4-4 -- and then the Panthers put up the next 16 points as the Redhawks went scoreless for more than 7 minutes. It was 37-19 at the break.

The Panthers came in shooting just 41.1 percent from the field to rank 10th in the OVC, but they made 57.7 percent in the opening period (15 of 26). Many of those baskets were layups.

Southeast hit just seven of 27 first-half shots (25.9 percent), including one of 11 from 3-point range (9.1 percent).

"That's what lost the game, the 20-4 start," Paradoski said.

The Redhawks' halftime deficit would have been greater had they not gotten solid play from senior center Tyrell White, who had seen little action until recently.

White, starting his second straight game after junior center Mike Rembert suffered a knee injury last week, had scored just 12 points all season. He put up six of Southeast's 19 first-half points.

"Tyrell did some good things in the first half," Edgar said.

Edgar was so frustrated with his team's overall first-half performance, only two of Southeast's players who started the game were on the court at the beginning of the final period: White and freshman point guard Roderick Pearson.

Junior forward Brandon Foust, Southeast's leading scorer at more than 12 points per contest, was held scoreless in 10 first-half minutes. He never got off the bench in the second half.

"That was a coach's decision," Edgar said. "I was searching for some combinations."

Edgar found some of the right combinations in the second half as Southeast outscored EIU 50-40, although the Redhawks never pulled closer than 10 points until late and the Panthers hit their free throws down the stretch to hold on.

Most of the positive combinations in the last period included freshman guards Pearson and Marcus Rhodes.

Pearson tied for game-high scoring honors with 17 points, 15 in the second half. Rhodes had 15 points, 11 in the final 20 minutes.

A third freshman guard, Jimmy Drew, was the Redhawks' No. 3 scorer in the game.

Drew, averaging 1.3 points in limited action, put in seven second-half points after not playing in the first half. He hit both of his 3-point attempts.

"The freshmen didn't play perfect, but they gave us good play," Edgar said. "I'm really proud of the guys that played and competed in the second half."

But the Redhawks got little from their usual top scorers.

In addition to Rembert -- averaging 10.3 points -- being out with an injury, Foust did not score and junior guard David Johnson (11 ppg) had five points.

"Some of the guys who have played well this year, that we counted on, could not get it going," Edgar said.

Southeast closed to 74-67 with 31 seconds left, but EIU made three of four free throws to ice things. The Panthers won their second straight and reached a season-high point total.

"The effort was there in the second half," said Edgar, whose squad -- due to the weather -- was scheduled to spend an extra night in the Charleston area before making the approximately 200-mile trip back home some time today.