Sycamores' rest was an edge against Indians

NEW ORLEANS -- Southeast Missouri State University's players weren't sure how much having to play on consecutive days impacted Friday's 68-55 loss to Indiana State in the University Hoops Classic.

But Southeast coach Gary Garner said he was certain that fatigue hampered the Indians, who fell to 1-1 in the six-team tournament. The Sycamores played their tournament opener Friday.

"It was so obvious they had more energy than us," Garner said. "We lost our legs in the second half.

The Indians burned Wisconsin-Milwaukee for 13 of 23 shooting from 3-point range in Thursday's 89-75 upset victory. A day earlier Southeast hit just three of 18 3-pointers.

"Maybe our biggest offensive strength is shooting the three," Garner said. "Our shots came up short and that's a sign of being tired."

Tim Scheer, who led the Indians with 18 points Friday, said, "I don't think we were tired. We just played a tough team and we didn't play nearly as well as we could have."

Added Derek Winans, who scored just two points on 1-for-9 shooting after having 25 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, "We took some bad shots and the good shots we took, we couldn't hit. It was just one of those nights."

Opponent undetermined

Southeast doesn't know for certain who or when it will play in Sunday's final round of the tournament. That will be determined today, when the Indians do not play.

It's likely the Indians will play in the 3 p.m. third-place game, although there is still an outside chance they could find themselves in the 5 p.m. championship contest.

Southeast being in the title game can happen only if Indiana State loses to Wisconsin-Milwaukee today, which would leave all three teams in the Indians' pool with 1-1 records. Point differential would then determine Sunday's pairings.

The Indians are plus-1, based on them beating Wisconsin-Milwaukee by 14 points and losing to Indiana State by 13. The only way Southeast would be in the finals is if Wisconsin-Milwaukee beats Indiana State by exactly 15 points today. That would also make Wisconsin-Milwaukee plus-1, but the Indians beat the Panthers.

If Southeast is indeed in the third-place game, the Indians' likely opponent will be Tulane, which lost 66-61 to Central Florida later Friday. Maine, which lost to Tulane Thursday and plays Central Florida today, rounds out that pool.

"I really wanted us to get into the championshp game, but if we could go 2-1 in the tournament, that would be really good," Garner said. "Having the day off should really help us get our legs back."

mmishow@semissourian.com

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