Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team sees comeback busted up by Ball St.

~ The Cardinals hit a last-second 3-pointer to defeat Southeast 85-82 in their BracketBusters game

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team staged an improbable late rally that looked like it would force overtime.

Ball State had other ideas.

Senior guard Jauwan Scaife buried an NBA-range 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left, sending the Cardinals past the Redhawks 85-82 on Saturday night in a BracketBusters matchup.

An announced Show Me Center crowd of 2,484 in Southeast's final home game of the season saw the Redhawks fall to 14-15. The Cardinals improved to 11-14.

"It's a tough way to lose. I give Ball State credit for a job well done," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "I thought our guys made a really good comeback. They played hard, showed character.

"We felt like the momentum shifted our way and we were hoping to get to overtime."

That seemed unlikely when Ball State, which trailed much of the way, finally surged ahead and led 77-67 with under 1 minute, 30 seconds left.

Senior guard Corey Wilford's 3-pointer with 1:23 remaining began a shocking 15-5 run.

"We just tried to keep playing," senior guard Marland Smith said. "We just tried to put some pressure on them and we knocked down some shots."

Smith's 3-pointer with 48 seconds left cut the deficit to 80-78. Two BSU free throws with 27 seconds remaining made it 82-78.

The Cardinals still appeared to be in solid shape after sophomore forward Nino Johnson hit 1 of 2 free throws with 15 seconds left to pull Southeast within 82-79.

But Johnson tipped the inbounds pass and Wilford came up with a steal. Wilford passed to Johnson, who then found Smith for a wide-open 3-pointer that tied things with 9 seconds left.

"We got the steal. He [Johnson] made a great pass to me and I knocked the shot down," Smith said.

The Cardinals took a 30-second timeout. The inbound pass went to Scaife, who weaved down the court, came off a screen on the right side and nailed his game-winner with the 6-foot-8 Johnson defending.

"That last shot ... just a tough shot. He just made it," Smith said.

It appeared as if Johnson wasn't far off from getting his finger on the ball.

"I was thinking no way he could make it," Johnson said.

Southeast got off to a strong start, scoring the game's first eight points and building a quick 11-2 lead.

But that nine-point advantage was Southeast's biggest of the night as the Cardinals hung around.

BSU, down 39-34 at halftime, didn't take its first lead until 8:19 remaining. Southeast never caught back up although there were ties of 57-57 and 63-63 before the final deadlock of 82-82.

"We fought hard to get back in the game," Smith said. "We just couldn't pull it out."

Five players scored in double figures for Southeast, including the Redhawks' three seniors who were honored before the contest on Senior Night.

Smith scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, when he made all five of his 3-pointers. He finished 7 of 10 from the field and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

"It hurts. We really wanted to win that game," said Smith, the program's career record-holder for 3-point baskets.

Wilford scored 15 points, hitting 4 of 10 3-pointers.

Southeast's third senior, guard Nick Niemczyk, added 13 points as he made 3 of 5 3-pointers.

"It was pretty intense. It was real emotional," said Niemczyk, a Bell City High School graduate, of his final home game.

Johnson had a monumental night as he posted his team-leading ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Johnson blocked three shots, giving him 76 on the year to break the school single-season record previously held by Bud Eley, who had 75 rejections during the 1998-99 campaign.

"It means a lot," Johnson said. "It just came. It wasn't anything I was focused on doing."

Said Nutt: "Those three seniors are special guys. ... that was fantastic for Nino [breaking the record]. I'm proud of Nino."

Junior forward Tyler Stone added 12 points and eight rebounds for Southeast.

Scaife paced the Cardinals with 18 points.

BSU shot 51.6 percent in the second half after hitting just 31.4 percent in the opening period to finish at 40.9 percent.

Southeast shot 46 percent in the game and made 13 of 26 3-pointers (50 percent).

The Redhawks were hurt on the boards and at the free-throw line.

BSU outrebounded Southeast 46-36, including 19-10 on the offensive glass. The Cardinals made 23 of 31 foul shots compared to 11 of 16 for the Redhawks.

"We did a lot of good things. At the end of the day we didn't get it done," Nutt said.

Southeast finishes the regular season with two Ohio Valley Conference road games, Thursday at Austin Peay and Saturday at Murray State.

The Redhawks are second in the OVC West Division and sixth in the 12-team league overall among squads eligible for the eight-team conference tournament.