Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team claims Cure UCD Classic title in Mexico

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team is returning from its trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in a good frame of mind.

And it's not because the Redhawks have been relaxing in leisure.

Quite the contrary.

Southeast has been there on business, and it took care of that for the third consecutive day Sunday to win the four-team Cure UCD Classic with a 82-74 victory over Texas State.

The win followed victories over Northern Kentucky and Tulane, clinching the Rick Majerus championship trophy and extending the Redhawks' winning streak to four games.

"I'm very proud of my guys and how they've been able to put together three games in three days," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said after his team shot a sizzling 62 percent from the floor in the title game. "And I thought we improved and got better every game out, and tonight was a real test. I thought it was a testament to our toughness."

Southeast junior small forward Jarekious Bradley, celebrating his 23rd birthday on Sunday, led the Redhawks (6-2) in scoring for the second straight game. His 20-point game on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor after Saturday's 23-point effort against Tulane helped earn him the tournament MVP.

Bradley scored 13 of his points in the second half, when the Redhawks pulled away from a one-point halftime lead.

"Today, he just absolutely put our team on his shoulders for about three possessions and wasn't going to be denied," Nutt said about the junior-college transfer's play in the second half. "And you talk about scoring the basketball when things got tight, that's the sign of a great player."

Senior point guard Lucas Nutt, who had 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting and seven assists, and senior Tyler Stone, who had 14 points and six rebounds, joined Bradley on the all-tournament team.

Nutt gave Southeast the lead for good at 37-36 with a jumper with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the first half. He scored 13 of his points in the first half, which ended with Southeast clinging to a 39-38 lead over Texas State (2-6).

"The first half they took us out of some things we were trying to do, and we got rattled a little bit, but we were able to stay with them and trade baskets," Dickey Nutt said.

The teams were tied seven times in the first half, and neither team led by more than four points.

Southeast stuck to its pattern of strong second-half play in the tournament and never yielded the lead in the second half. The Redhawks opened a double-digit lead 6 minutes, 28 seconds into the half.

"The adjustments we made in the second half -- we went to a different type of zone -- threw them off a little bit," Dickey Nutt said. "And then shot selection was very, very good. Execution was good in the second half. And I can't say enough about the play of Lucas Nutt, Jarekious Bradley and Tyler Stone -- those guys all played very, very well tonight."

The Redhawks built a seven-point lead when junior Nino Johnson drove the lane for a 49-42 lead at the 16:31 mark of the second half that had the Bobcats calling timeout.

Southeast extended its advantage to double-figures when Bradley hit a 3-pointer with 13:32 left for a 54-44 lead.

The lead grew to as many as 15 points when Nutt found Darrian Gray for a layin with 7:19 left.

Texas State quickly closed the gap to nine points with 3-point baskets on back-to-back trips down the floor, but it never got closer than seven points.

Freshman Antonius Cleveland added 13 points for the Redhawks, while Johnson netted 10 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Southeast averaged 87.6 points over the tournament and shot better than 57 percent from the floor in each game. The Redhawks connected on 8 of 13 3-pointers Sunday to finish at 48.6 percent from behind the arc for the tournament.

"We feel like we can score the basketball," Dickey Nutt said. "I feel like we're getting a better understanding about playing smart and sharing the basketball and making an extra pass, and when you do that, you've got a chance to make shots. And we made shots."

Nutt was particularly pleased with his team's overall 29-of-47 shooting from the floor against Texas State.

"That's a remarkable stat," Nutt said about the 62 percent shooting. "Especially when you're playing against a team that is known for its defense. They're very well coached and were a defensive team."

Southeast shot 68 percent in the second half when it outscored the Bobcats 43-36.

The Redhawks held a rebounding advantage in all three of its games on the trip, finishing with a 33-27 edge on Sunday.

"It's been a wonderful trip and I'm just very pleased with our progress right now," Dickey Nutt said. "We feel like we've still have a long way to go, but we were able to get something done that obviously we weren't able to get done in a long time. Play in a tournament, but have some success. I'm really, really proud of our guys."

Southeast returns to action 11:30 a.m. Saturday when it visits Southeastern Louisiana. The Redhawks will return to the Show Me Center with a 7 p.m. game against Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 14.