Tech displays talent, depth to Redhawks

~ Southeast came away impressed with the defending OVC champions after Saturday's 79-65 loss.

Tennessee Tech associate head coach Steve Payne expressed concern prior to Saturday night's game against Southeast Missouri State at the Show Me Center.

In fact, Payne said he would not be surprised if the contest resembled last season's two meetings between the teams, when Tech squeezed out a pair of victories by a total of three points.

"I think it's going to be just as close," said Payne, who is serving as the Eagles' acting head coach while Mike Sutton continues to recover from Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

But Payne's worries were not warranted as the Eagles flexed their muscles by running away to a 79-65 victory that kept them atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings.

Tech, the defending OVC regular-season champion, improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in league play, while Southeast fell to 3-4 and 1-2.

The Eagles' performance certainly left a major impression on Southeast coach Gary Garner.

"They are a very good basketball team," Garner said. "If they play that way, they'll have a good chance to win the league. I can't imagine a team being better than Tennessee Tech."

Southeast hung around for a while, building two early eight-point leads and trailing just 40-34 at halftime.

The Redhawks were still in contention early in the second half, trailing 44-38, when the explosive Eagles used a 16-0 run to turn the contest into a rout at 60-38.

Southeast got no closer than the 14-point final margin as Tech posted its sixth straight win. The Eagles lead the OVC in scoring at 83 points per game.

"They are so explosive, and so deep," said Garner, noting that 11 Eagles played at least 10 minutes. "They are just really talented."

Poor shooting continues

Offensive problems continued to plague the Redhawks, who entered the contest shooting just 38.3 percent from the field and averaging only 63.7 points per game.

Southeast shot 39.7 percent against Tech, and for one of the few times this year also struggled from 3-point range at 28.6 percent.

"We have yet to put a complete game together with all five players playing together offensively," Garner said. "I'm perplexed. I still think we're going to come out of it."

Southeast's top two scorers particularly struggled offensively against Tech.

Senior guard Roy Booker, averaging 20 points per game prior to Saturday, hit three of 13 shots and scored 11 points.

Junior guard Terrick Willoughby, averaging 12.3 points per game, shot two of 13 -- including one of seven from 3-point range -- and scored seven points.

Willoughby entered the contest shooting 50 percent on 3-pointers (16 of 32), and had recently been shooting over 50 percent from the field overall before slumping in the past two games.

"Roy and Terrick really struggled," Garner said.

There were some offensive bright spots for the Redhawks, however.

Senior center Ketshner Guerrier scored a career-high 13 points to lead Southeast, hitting six of nine shots, and he matched his career high with 11 rebounds.

"Ketshner is playing better. This is really like his first year," said Garner of Guerrier, who missed most of last season with a knee injury.

Freshman guard Eric Jones had by far his best game at Southeast, coming off the bench to score 12 points before leaving with six minutes left in the second half after suffering what appeared to be a sprained ankle.

Jones, who had scored eight points all season, hit four of five shots, including two of three 3-pointers. He had not attempted a 3-pointer before Saturday.

Jones had been bothered by a broken finger in Southeast's first several games, which Garner said limited his offensive effectiveness. Jones has already been called the Redhawks' best defensive player by Garner.

"His finger is getting better," Garner said. "I said all along he was a better offensive player than he showed. He's going to be a heck of a player."

Junior forward Andrais Thornton added eight points and eight rebounds for Southeast, and had his third straight high-percentage shooting game by making three of five.

Sophomore point guard Paul Paradoski had seven assists.

Garner hopes that Jones will be able to return Friday when the Redhawks' host NAIA Central Methodist.

The Redhawks are already shorthanded in the backcourt, as junior David Johnson has missed the last three games after undergoing hernia surgery that might keep him out longer than originally anticipated.

Garner said preliminary reports have Johnson being sidelined for as many as six to eight weeks.