Road win boosts Southeast spirits; Nebraska looms

~ Southeast is riding high after victory over South Dakota State.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- It's amazing how much a victory to begin a road trip does for a basketball team's mental outlook.

Southeast Missouri State's Redhawks are a perfect example.

The Redhawks were somewhat reeling after Monday night's surprising home loss to IPFW, and they couldn't have been feeling all that good when they boarded a bus outside the Show Me Center a little past 5 a.m. on Wednesday.

Southeast was headed to St. Louis to catch a flight to Omaha, Neb., from which the Redhawks would bus nearly four hours to Brookings, S.D., in preparation for their first road game, Thursday night's matchup with South Dakota State.

"It was really disappointing to lose that game [to IPFW]," junior guard Terrick Willoughby said. "But we knew it was just one game, and we had to bounce back because this was going to be a really tough road trip."

Bounce back the Redhawks did, as they rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat South Dakota State 75-68.

The win certainly boosted the Redhawks (2-1) mentally as they bused here Friday afternoon in anticipation of Sunday's 2 p.m. tipoff against Nebraska (3-0) that will close out their two-game road trip.

"It's always great when you can win on the road," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "That was the first road win for this team, which is big.

"Winning that game, it just changes your whole outlook the rest of the trip. We've got two days [between the South Dakota State and Nebraska games], and the players will just have so much more energy now when we practice, and a much more positive outlook."

Said Willoughby, "Winning that game will do a lot for our confidence. If we had lost, it really would have made for a tough rest of the trip."

The Redhawks prevailed Thursday night in large part because they were finally able to get their offense going -- although they had to overcome another slow start along the way.

Southeast has gotten behind by fairly substantial margins in each of its three games, and South Dakota State jumped out to early leads of 14-4 and 22-9.

But Southeast, which had shot just 38.2 percent in its first two games, wound up shooting a season-best 47.4 percent, despite making just six of its first 17 field-goal attempts.

The Redhawks were particularly strong from long range, making 13 of 24 3-pointers for a sizzling 54.2 percent.

"We've still got a long way to go, but our offense looked better," Garner said. "Our shot selection was better. We got wide open 3-pointers."

Said junior college transfer guard David Johnson, who made his first Southeast start against South Dakota State and had team highs of 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals, "We did a lot better with our offense. Coach just told us we had to execute"

Added Willoughby, who followed Johnson with 14 points, "Our offense looked a lot better. We've got a lot of new guys, and it just takes time. We'll keep getting better."

Outside accuracy

Somewhat curiously, Southeast is so far shooting much better from long range than in close. The Redhawks are hitting 48.1 percent of their 3-pointers (25 of 52), but their overall field-goal percentage is just 41.3 (69 of 167).

"I'm sure that won't last, but we do have some guys who can shoot the three," Garner said.

It would certainly aid the Redhawks' cause if they could start games better. Against IPFW, they allowed the first 13 points and trailed by 17 early in the second half. They rallied, but came up just short.

"I don't know why we have so much trouble early," Johnson said. "We've got to come out playing better right away."

Southeast's biggest weakness Thursday night was on the boards as the Redhawks were outrebounded 51-33, including 26-8 on the offensive glass.

That's a major concern for Garner as the Redhawks prepare for a big, physical Nebraska team that features a 6-foot-11, 265-pound center.

"We just got killed on the boards," Garner said. "Nebraska will be big and strong inside, and we have got to rebound better if we are going to have any kind of chance of being in the game."