SEMO men drop to 0-2 in OVC play

~ A fast start ended in an 80-74 loss to Austin Peay.

Two games into the OVC schedule the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team has shown one indisputable fact.

As Jarekious Bradley goes, so go the Redhawks.

Bradley, the reigning OVC Player of the Week, scored 17 points in the first half Saturday night against Austin Peay on his way to a career-high 30 points, but he fouled out for the second straight contest.

Southeast, which led by as many as 15 points in the first half, ultimately fell 80-74.

"He's an oustanding player, if not one of the best players in the league, and boy he's holding his own," Southeast Missouri State coach Dickey Nutt said about the 6-foot-5 junior transfer. "We just need everybody to get to his level.

"He has such a basketball IQ that is just unbelievable, and he's really playing well, but he's not going to be enough. We've got to have other players step up and play their role. We just have to do a better job with that."

Senior forward Tyler Stone added 16 points for Southeast but was the only other player in double-figures.

Southeast dropped its third straight game to fall to 8-7 overall and 0-2 in OVC play.

Conversely, Austin Peay won its third straight game and evened its season record at 8-8 and improved to 2-0 in the conference.

The Redhawks, who led 38-33 at halftime, still held a 48-41 lead when Bradley picked up his third foul with 15 minutes, 8 seconds left in the game. He went to the bench, which coincided with the start of a 26-5 run by Austin Peay. Bradley did return during the spurt, but it included his fourth foul with 8:58 left in the game.

A pair of free throws gave the Govs a 13-point lead at 69-56 with 6:45 left in the contest.

Bradley did heat up again late, with eight straight points pulling the Redhawks to within 72-68 with 3:05 left. His personal run included back-to-back 3-pointers.

However, just over a minute later, Bradley fouled out on a play away from the ball while on defense trying to hold position against senior forward Will Triggs.

"We battled back behind Jarekious Bradley, on his shoulders, and then for him to get that fifth foul ... he was trying not to foul and all he was trying to do was just hold his position," Nutt said. "That hurt us. And he [the referee] called a block ... I don't understand that one.

"You know, we're not worried about the referees. We've got to do a better job of putting together 40 minutes, and we're not playing as well as we need to."

The foul came with 1:57 left and resulted in a pair of free throws by Triggs for a 76-68 lead. Southeast never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

Triggs scored all 14 of his points in the second half.

Six-foot-8 sophomore center Chris Horton finished with a team-high 21 points and 12 rebounds for a more balanced Govs offense. Senior guard Travis Betran added 16 points, while sophomore guard Zavion Williams had 12 points.

The Redhawks had dropped their OVC opener, 82-75, on Thursday at OVC West co-favorite Murray State with Bradley scoring a team-high 22 points before fouling out with four minutes remaining.

Southeast appeared serious about gaining just its second win at Dunn Arena since 1998 with a fast start.

Southeast scored the game's first four points and never trailed in the first half.

Bradley scored 17 of his points in the first half -- no other Redhawk had more than four points -- connecting on 3 of 4 shots from behind the 3-point arc. He hit 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the court which gave Southeast a 24-12 lead and had the Govs calling timeout with 9:33 left in the half.

Bradley had matched Austin Peay's team total at that point of the contest.

The Redhawks' lead grew to 15 points with 9:30 left in the half before the Govs began to chip away. Southeast went scoreless for nearly five minutes as Austin Peay closed to within 34-31 on a free throw with less than two minutes left in the half. Southeast's Nino Johnson and Darrian Gray responded with baskets for a 38-31 lead, and the Redhawks settled for a 38-33 lead at halftime.

"Out of 15 games, we've played 11 on the road, and to have a winning record ... for those guys to hang in there and be road warriors, we're going to be fine," Nutt said. "We're going to find our way. There's a lot of basketball to be played. We've got to get ready to play and get our confidence back."

Southeast held a 35-28 edge in rebounding but committed 18 turnovers to just nine for Austin Peay. The Govs turned 11 second-half turnovers into 21 points.

Southeast will host defending OVC East champion Belmont, which also won the OVC tournament, at 7 p.m. Thursday.