Fans get first glimpse of Powell, Redhawks men's basketball team

Leon Powell had a better opinion of Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage than Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt.

But both agree that Nutt's second Southeast team has considerably more talent than Nutt's inaugural squad that went 7-23 and finished ninth in the 10-team Ohio Valley Conference.

"I think everybody played good today," Powell said.

Nutt didn't go that far, but he was encouraged if guarded.

"We didn't show any kind of defense. We have a long way to go," Nutt said. "But we showed some good things. We have a lot more to work with. We've got more size, more athleticism."

Simply adding Powell to the mix should benefit greatly the Redhawks. The 6-foot-7 junior forward was the jewel of Nutt's first Southeast recruiting class last year but missed the entire season after suffering a knee injury during a pickup game.

Now healthy, Powell showed the approximately 500 fans at the Show Me Center what they missed a year ago by scoring 28 points to lead the Red team to an 85-65 win.

"It was good to get out there, get some jitters out of the body," said Powell, who scored on a variety of mid-range jumpers, drives and put-backs. "Everything went well."

Said Nutt: "Leon looked good. He's solid."

Returning senior forward Cameron Butler scored 23 points for the Red.

Also for the Red, returning redshirt freshman point guard Lucas Nutt -- who played in nine games before suffering a season-ending foot injury last year-- had 19 points and a game-high nine assists. He hit three 3-pointers.

Other double-figure scorers for the Red were returning sophomore guard Marland Smith with 14 points and junior college transfer guard/forward Nathan Schulte with 10 points.

"We've been working hard in practice," Schulte said. "To finally get our first scrimmage in was good."

Schulte is a rugged 6-5, 215-pounder lauded by Nutt for his blue-collar type of play but he displayed a nice outside shooting touch in the scrimmage.

"I came out shooting the ball pretty good. I'm definitely looking to score," Schulte said. "But playing hard-nosed basketball, playing with a lot of intensity and effort, is what I base my game on."

Added a smiling Schulte: "But I like to shoot it, too."

Whether Schulte shoots or not, Nutt believes he'll be a solid contributor.

"Nathan is a construction guy. Nothing he does looks pretty and I don't mean that in a bad way," Nutt said. "He's a warrior. He broke his nose last week. He had to have it re-set but he said he's not going to wear any type of mask."

Returning senior guard Anthony Allison led the Black with 23 points.

Juco transfer point guard Marcus Brister, a 6-4, 215-pounder, scored 12 points for the Black.

"Marcus did some good things and Lucas played well," Nutt said of the two point guards.

Juco transfer Waylon Jones, a 6-9 sophomore, scored 12 points for the Black.

Missouri transfer Tyler Stone, who has to sit out the season under NCAA transfer rules but will have three years of eligibility left, added 11 points for the Black.

Juco transfer Zach House, a 7-footer, had eight points for the Black. He and Jones tied for game-high rebounding honors with seven apiece.

"I appreciate the fans that came out," Nutt said. "We've been working hard, running them into the ground, and this support is a nice reward for them."

Southeast plays its first exhibition game Saturday against Ouachita Baptist.