Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team prepares for home opener

~ Southeast will host NAIA Central Baptist College tonight

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team gave highly regarded Saint Louis University a first-half scare in Friday's opener before losing 87-64 to the defending Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champion.

The lopsided final score wasn't a surprise considering the Redhawks were without three of their top players and their only two true inside players.

Southeast also will be missing senior forward Tyler Stone, junior forward Nino Johnson and senior guard A.J. Jones today when the Redhawks begin their home schedule.

But the Redhawks, on paper at least, still should have more than enough talent to break into the win column when Central Baptist College visits the Show Me Center for an 8 p.m. tipoff. It will be the first meeting between the programs.

The Mustangs, from Conway, Ark., are affiliated with both the NAIA and the National Christian College Athletic Association. They went 11-20 last season and are 0-4 this year, including Saturday's 116-61 loss to Arkansas-Fort Smith.

"We're looking forward to our first home game," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said.

Central Baptist has a tie to Southeast in the form of first-year assistant coach Nate Bean, who was Nutt's director of basketball operations last season after previously serving as a student manager under Nutt with the Redhawks.

"He did a great job for us when he was here," Nutt said.

Stone, the Ohio Valley Conference preseason player of the year, and fellow all-OVC preseason pick Johnson both were suspended last week for the first two games of the season due to a violation of unspecified team rules.

Then just a short time before Friday's opener, Southeast released a statement saying that Jones had withdrawn from school and is no longer part of the basketball program.

Without the 6-foot-8, 230-pound Stone and 6-9, 245-pound Johnson, the tallest available player Southeast has is 6-5. That will change next month when 6-7 Auburn transfer Josh Langford becomes eligible.

That lack of height and bulk showed up Friday at SLU; the Redhawks were outscored in the paint by a whopping 56-22 margin.

The Redhawks still gave the Bills a first-half battle, leading 35-34 at the break before SLU broke the contest open in the second half.

"I thought we responded well. Everybody thought we were going to lay down," senior point guard Lucas Nutt said. "I think everybody played their hearts out. We just ran out of gas in the second half. Once we get all our bullets back, we're going to be really good."

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 sparkled during Southeast's two-game exhibition schedule, had a double-double by halftime Friday with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He finished with 22 points and 12 boards.

"I think everybody saw what Jerekious could do. He was a beast," Lucas Nutt said.

Dickey Nutt, while encouraged by Southeast's performance against SLU without some of its key players, said the Redhawks can't afford to look past what figures to be an overmatched Central Baptist squad tonight.

"I told our team we better get ready. We'll get their best shot," Nutt said. "I want to see us improve, take another step forward."

Stone and Johnson will both be eligible to return when the Redhawks play their third game of the season Saturday at IUPUI.