Southeast men hold on for first conference win

The offensive prowess of Southeast Missouri State's men's basketball team is certainly no secret to the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference competition.

Now, if only the Redhawks' defense could follow suit.

Saturday night's game continued a season-long trend for the Redhawks, who cracked the 100-point barrier for the fourth time this season but needed some timely defensive stops down the stretch to hold off a pesky Tennessee State squad 102-94 in front of 2,053 fans at the Show Me Center.

The Redhawks, tabbed a pre-season West Division favorites along with perennial OVC power Murray State, gained their first league win, improving to 1-3 in the OVC and 9-8 overall.

"My team probably thinks I acted as if we lost in that dressing room," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said after the game. "I'm very pleased that we won the game, but the way we won it ... we've got to find a way to stop some people."

Southeast rode strong offensive performances from junior guard Jerekious Bradley, who had 23 points, and senior guard Lucas Nutt, who finished with 11 points and 10 assists, along with senior forward Tyler Stone's 27 points and nine rebounds off the bench to halt a four-game losing streak.

Still, the Tigers -- who trailed by 20 points at one point in the first half -- were able to pull within four points twice in the final two minutes to throw a scare into the Redhawks.

Tennessee State senior guard Patrick Miller shredded the Southeast defense for a game-high 37 points as the Tigers, who entered play ranked 301st in the nation in scoring offense at 65.7 points per game, scored nearly 30 points above their average.

"We did some good things," Tennessee State coach Travis Williams said. "But you can't afford to put yourself in the hole and spot this team 13 points in the first half, especially with the talent they have. They were clicking on all cylinders, you know."

Yes, Southeast was clicking on offense. The Redhawks built a 33-13 lead with 8 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the first half, then allowed the Tigers (2-16, 1-3 OVC East) to pull within 52-39 at the half.

The lead remained comfortably in double digits for the Redhawks until the final minutes.

"We knew from watching film on them and scouting that they had the ability to put it in the basket," Williams said. "They're a very talented team. ... They shot well. When you look at the stats, 65 percent for the game, that was the key. We couldn't defend them, couldn't stop them."

Nutt couldn't say enough about his team's offensive performance. The Redhawks shot 65.3 percent from the field (32 of 49), were 9 of 16 from 3-point range and totalled 21 assists.

"Offensively, another good performance," said Nutt. "What can you say about the play of our seniors? I thought Tyler Stone was the difference-maker tonight. I thought he hit some big, big shots, especially free throw shooting, especially rebounding."

Stone, who had started 12 of the 14 games he's played in this season, started the game on the bench for what Nutt described as sub-par offensive effort.

"What does it tell you," said Nutt. "What a perfect example he had tonight. ... He got to the free throw line 15 times. That's a hard night. That's a good night's work. I give him a lot of credit."

"We knew they would come in here and give us their best," Stone said. "They didn't want to lose just like we didn't want to lose."

Nutt wasn't overlooking a team that had won just two games so far this season.

"These are the games that worry me the most. A dangerous basketball team. They've got one of the top players in the league. They've lost a lot of games close. They're just as capable of beating anybody. And if we don't out and play 40 minutes, we're going to be beaten. I felt like in the last 20 minutes we just traded baskets."

Stone, junior forward Nino Johnson and senior point guard Lucas Nutt have the most experience among the returning Redhawks players and are finding their stride working with newcomers Bradley and Darrian Gray (junior college transfers), junior Josh Langford (transfer from Auburn) and freshman guard Antonius Cleveland.

Lucas Nutt called it the "most talented team" he's played with.

"We've got a bunch of new guys, new faces," he said. "We haven't won the games we're supposed to, but we still have confidence in our team that we can get back. If we play defense for 40 minutes every night and play with honest effort every night, we have a chance to come back and really get that going. We just have to make some magic, put the pieces together, and we'll be all right."

Southeast's improvement wasn't lost on the Tigers' Miller, who has played against the Redhawks for four seasons.

"They're deeper, they've got more depth on the bench," he said. "They have a lot of key players they can go to, there's not just one person to focus on. There's more than just one guy you've got to pay attention to."

Nutt said the new players are jelling, but they're "not there yet."

"The freshmen and the newcomer and all that stuff ... we can stop using that," Nutt said. "There's no more excuses. We've got to come together as one and be a better basketball team on both ends of the floor. There's more to basketball than just the offensive side, but I think they're buying into what we're doing and trying their level best to be as good as they can be."

The Redhawks next play at Morehead State on Thursday at 6 p.m.