Southeast rally rattles Mean Green

Brett Hale didn't exactly remember what Southeast Missouri State University coach Gary Garner told the Indians at halftime Monday night.

Hale, a junior guard, just knew that Garner was plenty upset.

"I don't even remember what he said. He just did a lot of yelling," Hale said, laughing. "He got on us pretty good. He sent a message."

Message received. The Indians rallied from a 14-point deficit early in the second half for a stirring 75-68 victory over North Texas in front of 3,402 fans at the Show Me Center. Southeast improved to 6-3, and the Mean Green fell to 4-5.

"We had a little halftime talk," acknowledged Garner with a smile. "What do you call those, fireside chats?"

Whatever Garner said, it worked. After shooting just 34.6 percent in the first half and committing 10 turnovers -- along with making just three of 11 free throws -- the Indians recovered by shooting 70.8 percent in the second half, having just four turnovers and hitting 12 of 17 foul shots.

"We just came out slow, but in the second half we came out ready to play," junior guard Derek Winans. "This is a huge win for us. It shows the character of the team."

A dismal first half saw Southeast fall behind 35-24. It could have been worse, but Hale banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to break a scoreless drought of more than five minutes and send the Indians into the locker room with at least a bit of momentum.

"They had some great players, really athletic, but I just knew in the end we would come out on top," senior center Brandon Griffin said.

But the first few minutes of the second half gave no indication of a comeback as Southeast fell behind 42-28. The Indians still trailed 46-36 with under 15 minutes remaining -- then all of a sudden they came to life.

The Indians hit the Mean Green with a stunning 16-0 run during a four-minute span to turn the game around and finally give their fans something to cheer about.

Four points by Griffin and two each by Winans and junior forward Dainmon Gonner pulled Southeast within 46-44.

Then junior forward Reggie Golson stole a pass and was intentionally fouled as he went in for a layup -- and still made the shot. His basket with 12:04 remaining forged a 46-46 tie, then he hit one of two free throws to give the Indians their first lead since the game's opening moments.

Southeast retained possession on the intentional foul, and junior guard Mike Nelke buried a 3-pointer. A Winans 18-footer made it 52-46 with 10:57 left.

"The intentional foul was huge," Garner said. "It was really a five-point play."

The Indians never lost the lead, but they were far from home free, despite going up 65-55 on a Hale 3-pointer with 6:17 left.

North Texas made it 67-66 with just over three minutes remaining, then Hale hit another huge shot, nailing a long 3-pointer over a much taller defender at the 2:58 mark for a 70-66 lead.

"It was a big shot," Hale said. "I didn't even see the rim when I shot it, then I saw it go in."

After North Texas pulled to within 71-68 with 1:06 left, Gonner and Griffin each made two free throws in the final 35 seconds to ice the victory.

Griffin had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Gonner, the Copi-Rite player of the game, bounced back from a scoreless first half to finish with 15 points and eight rebounds.

"The first half was frustrating, but I knew my teammates would pick up the slack," Gonner said.

Winans and Hale both finished with 14 points. They combined to hit five of nine 3-pointers.

"First of all, they're a very athletic team, but we didn't play with any energy or enthusiasm in the first half," Garner said. "I just thought we came out with a lot more fire in the second half, and the crowd really helped us.

"I'm really proud of the guys. We were so bad, it would have been easy for us to fold our tent. But we had a lot of plays from a lot of people."

Shawnson Johnson led North Texas with 16 points and eight rebounds.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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