Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team falls to Memphis

~ Southeast stayed close but ultimately suffered a 77-65 loss

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis coach Josh Pastner has abandoned thoughts of pressing for all 40 minutes. No hesitation about trying it once in a while, however.

Saturday night, it made a difference as the No. 15 Tigers pulled away from Southeast Missouri State in the second half for a 77-65 victory.

"I'm glad that we put it in," Pastner said after the Tigers forced 19 turnovers that led to 24 points. "There's going to be different times that we need it. Sometimes we don't need it. Tonight, the press helped us win the game."

Shaq Goodwin's offense also contributed as he scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Goodwin made 10 of 12 shots as the Tigers (8-2) recovered from Tuesday night's 77-75 loss to No. 16 Florida at Madison Square Garden.

"It's important for Shaq to continue to be at a high level," Pastner said, noting the Redhawks double-teamed the sophomore forward. "He's important for us. But he's just got to keep it simple. There's times when he tried to make the home run play. But his energy is contagious. It's infectious, and we need him to be at a high level."

Joe Jackson added 16 points, and Geron Johnson finished with 10 points for Memphis. The Tigers shot 50 percent despite going 2 of 17 from outside the arc.

Southeast freshman Antonius Cleveland made a shot with 7 minutes, 43 seconds left to pull the Redhawks within seven points.

Then Cleveland, who was one of five Redhawks playing in his hometown, made a steal that gave his team the chance to cut the lead again.

point attempt on the ensuing possession and the Tigers followed with a run that broke open the game on their way to the victory.

Memphis scored the next seven points after Nutt's missed shot with the help a two Southeast turnovers. The Redhawks never trailed by fewer than 10 after that point.

Tyler Stone led the Redhawks with 23 points. Jarekious Bradley added 19 points, while Antonius Cleveland gave Southeast Missouri a second-half push, scoring 11 of his 14 points after the break. The 65 points by the Redhawks were 20 below their 85.6 average for the season.

"We don't ever think about that," Southeast Missouri coach Dickey Nutt said. "The thing we didn't want to do is take quick shots. Our defense hasn't been very good. We're holding people to about 44 percent. It needs to get to 40 (percent), and here we are facing a high octane type offense.

"We're more concerned with our defensive stops and rebounds. We think we can score, so we don't really worry too much about that," he said.

Southeast trailed by as many as nine points with 5:04 left in the first half, but the Redhawks went on a 9-2 run that included seven points from the senior Stone, another Memphis native on Southeast's roster. The run brought the Redhawks within two points at 32-30 with 1:53 left in the half, but they did not score again before halftime and trailed 38-30 at the break.

Stone, whose mother was in attendance, also had 11 rebounds. He shot 10 of 18 from the floor and had two steals, a block and an assist.

The Tigers unleashed their press early in the second half, leading to a couple of turnovers and a 10-point Memphis lead. Nutt said the Tigers' athleticism finally showed leading to problems for his team.

"That's what good defensive teams do with tremendous, tremendous athletes," Nutt said. "I mean they glide. They barely look like they are moving, and they are 100 miles an hour. That's that gift they have."

Pastner again said he has learned being strategic with the press may be the best way to use the defense.

"The press still is going to help us win games," he said. "It's going to still be good for us. It's just something that it might not be where it is a full 40 minutes."

Memphis scored 50 of it's 77 points in the paint, while Southeast had 42 points in the paint.

Southeast forward Nino Johnson, also from Memphis, was 2 of 6 from the floor in 33 minutes against the Tigers. He had eight rebounds to go along with a block and a steal.

Josh Langford played in first game for Southeast after sitting out the first semester. He finished 1 of 3 from the floor in seven minutes and had four rebounds and four turnovers.

Southeast dropped to 7-4 on the season. It will face IUPUI at 7 p.m. Monday at the Show Me Center. IUPUI defeated Southeast 76-68 at home on Nov. 16. The Redhawks final non-conference tune up will be on the road at Missouri State at 2:05 p.m. Dec. 29.