Southeast men's basketball team falls short without stars

ST. LOUIS -- The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team would have been a decided underdog at Saint Louis University under any circumstances.

But the circumstances the Redhawks found themselves in during Friday night's season opener made things infinitely more challenging.

"It was a tough week," said senior point guard Lucas Nutt, stating the obvious.

Southeast lost to the defending Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament champion Billikens 87-64.

But the shorthanded and shorter Redhawks made the Billikens sweat much more than most people might have expected as Southeast led 35-34 at halftime before SLU outscored the Redhawks 53-29 in the final period.

"I was really proud of my team tonight," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "For this team to endure what they've been through in the last 72 hours is nothing short of amazing."

Dickey Nutt knew the odds were seriously stacked against the Redhawks, especially since they were without three of their top players and their only two true inside performers.

Senior forward Tyler Stone, the Ohio Valley Conference preseason player of the year, and junior forward Nino Johnson -- like Stone an all-OVC preseason selection -- were suspended on Wednesday for the first two games of the season due to a violation of unspecified team rules.

Then just a short time before Friday's contest Southeast released a statement saying that senior guard A.J. Jones -- the Redhawks' top returning 3-point shooter in accuracy and volume, having hit 30 of 70 for 42.9 percent a year ago -- had withdrawn from school and is no longer part of the basketball program.

Southeast officials said there would be no further comment regarding Jones from anybody associated with the university, including Dickey Nutt.

Without the 6-foot-8, 230-pound Stone and 6-9, 245-pound Johnson, Southeast's tallest available player Friday was 6-5.

Despite all that adversity, Southeast gave SLU, which posted a school-record 28 victories and earned its second straight NCAA tournament berth last year, quite a first-half battle in front of 7,714 fans at Chaifetz Arena.

"I thought we responded well. Everybody thought we were going to lay down," Lucas Nutt said. "I think everybody played their hearts out. We just ran out of gas in the second half."

Jerekious Bradley, a first-team junior-college All-American last year, had an impressive debut with the Redhawks.

Bradley, a 6-5, 220-pound guard/forward who stood out during Southeast's two-game exhibition schedule, had a double-double by halftime Friday with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

"I think everybody saw what Jerekious could do. He was a beast," Lucas Nutt said. "Once we get all our bullets back, we're going to be really good."

Bradley finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds -- both game highs -- along with four steals and two blocks. He hit 10 of 17 field-goal attempts, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range.

"It was exciting," Bradley said of his first Division I game. "We played very hard. We just ran out of gas in the second half."

Bradley's work around the glass helped the much smaller Redhawks hold a 23-18 rebounding advantage at halftime, although they wound up being outrebounded 38-34.

"What about Jerekious Bradley. ... I thought he played at a very high level," Dickey Nutt said.

Antonius Cleveland, a 6-5 freshman guard, had a strong collegiate debut with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Darrian Gray, a 6-5 junior college transfer guard who missed the two exhibition games with an injury, also reached double figures with 12 points. He added two blocks.

"I thought Antonius Cleveland and Darrian Gray did some good things," Dickey Nutt said.

Southeast had only one returning player from last season in uniform Friday, the 6-1 Lucas Nutt. Every other Redhawk made his Division I debut.

Joining Bradley, Cleveland, Gray and Nutt in the starting lineup was 6-2 redshirt freshman guard C.J. Reese.

Southeast used only two players off the bench -- 6-1 walk-on freshman guard Jamaal Calvin and 6-3 walk-on juco transfer guard/forward Caleb Woods -- until the final minute.

There were three early ties before the Bills opened up a pair of 10-point leads midway through the first half.

Southeast refused to cave.

Cleveland's 3-pointer with 1 minute, 12 seconds left cut the deficit to 34-33. Bradley's driving shot with 29 seconds remaining made it 35-34 for the Redhawks' only lead of the half, which they carried into the break.

"We thought we could win [at halftime]," Lucas Nutt said. "But that wind gets short. We hit that wall."

Gray's three-point play 25 seconds into the final period gave Southeast it's largest lead at 38-34.

The Redhawks led one more time, on Gray's 3-pointer that made it 41-38, before SLU finally took control for good.

Senior forward Dwayne Evans' two free throws with 16:47 left put the Bills ahead to stay at 43-41. They steadily pulled away after that, leading by double figures for the final 12:35. SLU's biggest advantage was 26 points.

"First of all, they [Southeast] did a great job," SLU coach Jim Crews said. "They were very smart. Coach Nutt really had them set up well."

SLU took advantage of Stone's and Johnson's absence to outscore Southeast in the paint by a whopping 56-22 margin.

"They had a lot of size. It takes a toll," Bradley said.

The Bills shot 65.5 percent in the decisive second half, much of that damage coming inside as Southeast had no answers defensively around the basket. SLU shot 51.6 percent for the game.

Southeast shot just 33.3 percent in the second half and 37.5 percent for the night.

Both squads struggled from 3-point range, Southeast making 5 of 21 (23.8 percent) and SLU 3 of 19 (15.8 percent). The Redhawks had 19 turnovers compared to 14 for the Bills.

Evans, an all-Atlantic 10 Conference first-team selection last year, and junior forward Grandy Glaze paced SLU with 16 points apiece.

"This is a good team," Dickey Nutt said. "To hold our own for a while. ... we'll grow from this."

The Redhawks return to action Monday when they open their home schedule at 8 p.m. against NAIA Central Baptist from Conway, Ark.