Southeast men defeat Evansville 87-77

After three somewhat uneven performances to start the season, the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team was looking to put everything together.

The Redhawks did just that Tuesday night to come away with an impressive 87-77 home victory over Evansville of the high-profile Missouri Valley Conference.

Southeast (2-2) avenged last season's 20-point road loss to the Purple Aces (0-3) and also posted the program's first win over Evansville in 60 years.

"I think tonight we put a total game together," junior swingman Jaycen Herring said.

The Redhawks clicked on most cylinders from almost the very start and never really let up.

Southeast Missouri State's Jaycen Herring went in for a slam dunk against Evansville during Tuesday's game at the Show Me Center. (AARON EISENHAUER ~ photos@semissourian.com)

Southeast trailed only briefly in the opening moments before taking control.

The Redhawks led 40-29 at halftime, by 17 points early in the second half and never let the advantage dip under seven points.

Southeast banged home 13 3-pointers (in 28 attempts), held Evansville to 41.9-percent shooting overall and hammered the Aces on the boards 49-30.

"I think we played a lot of team ball," sophomore point guard Roderick Pearson said. "They had beat us pretty bad last year and the guys that came back remembered that."

Evansville is projected as the last-place team in the MVC, and the Aces are rebuilding under first-year coach Marty Simmons.

SEMO's David Johnson makes a lay-up attempt over Evansville's Kavon Lacey during the first half of their game on Friday, November 2, 2007. (AARON EISENHAUER ~ photos@semissourian.com)

Still, Southeast coach Scott Edgar thoroughly liked what he saw from the Redhawks.

"I thought it was a great performance," Edgar said. "Particularly with the magnitude and prestige of that conference ... this is a good win."

It's almost routine for a coach to laud a strong showing as a total team effort -- but Tuesday's performance really was just that for the Redhawks.

Southeast used all 11 of its healthy scholarship players, with each receiving at least nine minutes.

Ten players scored, with all 10 netting at least four points, including eight players who scored six points or more.

"Different guys keep chipping in," Edgar said.

Sophomore forward Calvin Williams, continuing to look more and more comfortable after sitting out last year under NCAA transfer rules, had his first Southeast double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Williams, a transfer from Colorado who was allowed to practice with the squad last year, threw down three of Southeast's five rim-rattling dunks.

"Calvin is playing well," Edgar said.

Pearson scored a team-high 14 points, dished out seven assists and played suffocating defense on Evansville star junior point guard Jason Holsinger.

Holsinger, one of the MVC's top 3-point shooters, was averaging 17.5 points per game. He scored 13 against Southeast on 4-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-11 on 3-pointers.

Two of Holsinger's 3-pointers came with Pearson taking a breather on the bench.

"Rod played good defense," Edgar said. "He's really developing into a very good player."

Sophomore guard Jimmy Drew had his best performance in a Southeast uniform.

Drew, an Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.) High School graduate who played sparringly last year, reached career highs for points with 12, rebounds with seven and assists with four.

Drew, who has started the last two games, added a pair of steals and did not commit a turnover.

"Jimmy is kind of a chemistry guy," Edgar said. "He can make open shots, he can make free throws late."

Herring was a fourth double-figure scorer for the Redhawks as he added 10 points.

As he did during the exhibition season, Herring scored in a variety of ways, including making 2-of-3 from 3-point range and ramming home a dunk.

Senior swingman David Johnson and sophomore guard Marcus Rhodes both added eight points, with Johnson rounding out the Southeast dunkers as he threw down an alley-oop pass from Williams.

Evansville, which was led by junior guard Shy Ely with 23 points, appeared on the verge of being blown out when Southeast grabbed a 46-29 lead early in the second half.

The Aces battled back to within seven points several times, but the Redhawks always had an answer.

Southeast hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:14 -- Drew was 4-of-4 and Pearson 4-of-6 -- to nail down the victory.

"They made a lot of runs at us, but I thought we handled things very well down the stretch," Edgar said.

Southeast returns to action Friday with a 2:30 p.m. game against Coppin State in the Chicago Invitational Challenge at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill.