Southeast men's basketball team routs Fontbonne in exhibition

Six scorers in double figures. A 52-38 advantage on the boards. Shooting 50 percent from the field. Nineteen points and six assists from his new point guard.

Toss in nine blocked shots and just eight turnovers despite a frantic up-tempo offensive pace, and it was hard for Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt to find anything to criticize in Saturday's 103-61 exhibition win over Division III Fontbonne University, the Redhawks' second exhibition win to open the season.

"Not as good as I want it to be, but I thought we had some good performances," he said.

That was an understatement.

Junior college transfer Isiah Jones continued his solid transition to Division I basketball by scoring a team-high 19 points on 8-for-16 shooting while dishing out six assists and not committing a turnover in 27 minutes of play. Senior forward Nino Johnson had his second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds despite playing what Nutt termed a difficult second half.

Ladarius Coleman added 16 points, Josh Langford had 14, and Antonius Cleveland and freshman J.T. Jones chipped in 12 points each as the Redhawks, who led 44-27 at the half, ran away from the Griffins in the second half.

"I thought Isiah Jones really had a good shooting night, shot the ball well," Nutt said. "Really had the scorer's mentality. That's a good thing."

Jones not only led all scorers, but he ran the Redhawks' fast-paced offense to near perfection.

Southeast Missouri State s Nino Johnson drives against Fontbonne s Colin Schirmer during the first half Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 at the Show Me Center. Schirmer, a freshman, is a Perryville graduate. (Fred Lynch)

"We took care of the basketball. I thought that was good for us," Nutt said. "Eight turnovers for the night in the up-tempo style that we want to play."

Southeast led 24-19 a little more than midway through the first half before closing the half with a 20-8 run that pushed its lead to 44-27 at halftime.

Southeast outscored the Griffins 59-34 in the second half, passing the century mark on Coleman's three-pointer from the wing with just over a minute to play.

It made the night difficult for a trio of Fontbonne personnel looking to enjoy a homecoming of sorts in Southeast Missouri.

"I was pretty excited because all my friends and family got to watch the game," said Jack Lake, who starred at Saxony Lutheran High School before attending St. Louis-based Fontbonne in the fall. "A lot of them wouldn't be able to come up to Fontbonne to see one."

The 6-foot-8 Lake scored six points and pulled down three rebounds in 17 minutes of play before fouling out with 4 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the game.

Meanwhile, Colin Schirmer, a 6-8 freshman center and 2014 graduate of Perryville High School, scored 10 points and had five rebounds for the Griffins.

"It was really exciting to come down here and play these guys I got to see when I was younger," Schirmer said. "To play against someone like J.T. Jones, who I played against (in high school) because he was in our district. It's really nice to have all my friends and family get to watch us here."

First-year Fontbonne coach Anthony Hall spent two seasons playing at Southeast, leading the 1986 squad to a runner-up finish at the Division II national tournament.

Southeast Missouri State s J.J. Thompson drives against Fontbonne s Richard Dorhauer during the first half Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 at the Show Me Center. (Fred Lynch)

"It's always good to have one of your own back in here," Nutt said. "He brought his team in here, and man, did they play. They were very disciplined, very well coached, and played extremely hard."

Hall likes what his two local freshmen bring to the Griffins.

"They brings size, first of all, because we're so small," Hall said with a laugh. "Colin's good inside, and Jack can do quite a few things. He can shoot the ball. He can shoot the ball from the perimeter as well as score inside, too. So we're excited about that."

Nutt is excited about what his four freshman bring to the table. T.J. Thomas, a 6-8 forward, had nine points and eight rebounds and looks to be a guy who can replace the departed Tyler Stone as an inside presence. Guard Marcus Wallace had three points and dished out three assists in 15 minutes of play. Coleman had 16 points and seven boards, while J.T. Jones, a 2014 graduate of Sikeston, once again sparked the Redhawks in the second half with his physical play on both ends of the court.

"I thought all of our four freshmen, I think they really have a chance to be good players if they stay with it and just develop and get better," Nutt said. "Ladarius really had a good night tonight. He played well defensively and offensively. Really found the touch tonight shooting the basketball. I thought T.J. Thomas was good on the inside, particularly in the first half. And then J.T. Jones, what can you say about him? He always finds a way to produce, whether defensively or offensively. So I was really proud of those guys."

Johnson was effusive while praising his freshmen teammates.

"These guys are hungry, they're motivated," he said. "And they're buying into what Coach Nutt wants to do. We just keep coming together day in and day out at practice."

"I just try to come in and help as much as possible," J.T. Jones said. "It works. All you just have to do is buy in."

Two exhibition wins over a lesser-quality opponent is one thing. Southeast's regular season beings Friday when the Redhawks travel to Los Angeles for the LMU Classic on the campus of Loyola-Marymount University. The Redhawks take on the host school Friday night before facing San Diego on Saturday afternoon.

"Now the season's here," Johnson said. "I think we'll be ready for those back-to-back games coming in L.A."