Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team collects second road win in New Orleans

~ The Southeast men notched their second road victory with an 83-67 triumph

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team had control virtually from start to finish Thursday night as the Redhawks notched their second straight victory and second road win of the season.

Southeast led all the way and withstood several New Orleans comeback attempts during a 83-67 triumph.

The Redhawks improved to 5-4 and the Privateers fell to 2-4.

"Any time you can win on the road it's good, especially as much as we've been on the road," said Southeast coach Dickey Nutt, whose squad hosts New Orleans on Dec. 19 as the nonconference opponents play a unique home-and-home series. "I wish our fans could have seen this one. We really played well. They're very athletic. I thought we beat a decent team."

Southeast, after struggling offensively for three straight games, had its second consecutive strong offensive performance.

The Redhawks blistered the nets for 53.3-percent shooting (32 of 60). They made 7 of 12 3-pointers (58.3 percent).

"Offensively we really showed some patience tonight," Nutt said. "We shared the ball. We didn't take any wild shots."

Junior forward Tyler Stone dominated inside with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. He hit 10 of 17 field goals and had a handful of dunks.

Stone has scored in double figures in eight straight games. He has a team-high four double-doubles this season after entering the night eighth nationally in that department.

"Tyler had one of his better games tonight," Nutt said.

Sophomore forward Nino Johnson also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He blocked four shots, just ahead of Stone's three rejections. Johnson also had three steals while Stone added two.

"Tyler and Nino played very, very hard. They were men on missions tonight," Nutt said.

Junior point guard Lucas Nutt scored 16 points for his first double-figure performance of the season.

Nutt was 6 of 8 from the field, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. He also dished out six assists.

"Lucas set the tone for the game. He really played well," Dickey Nutt said of his son. "He was very aggressive getting to the basket and he really ran the show."

Southeast continued its strong defense, holding New Orleans to 38.1-percent shooting. The Redhawks have held all nine of their opponents to under 40 percent from the field.

The Redhawks entered the night first in the Ohio Valley Conference and ninth nationally in field-goal percentage defense at 34.4.

"Defensively we were very good again," said Nutt, whose team also held a 43-29 rebounding advantage.

Senior guard Corey Wilford's 3-pointer 50 seconds into the game gave Southeast a quick 3-0 lead and the Privateers never caught up.

Nutt (eight) and Wilford (seven) combined for Southeast's first 15 points. Stone scored the Redhawks' next four points as they built their first double-figure lead at 19-9.

Stone's dunk midway through the opening period put Southeast up 25-11.

New Orleans battled back and trailed 40-34 at the break.

The Privateers cut the deficit to 44-40 early in the second half before Southeast regained control with a quick 8-0 run.

Senior guard Marland Smith hit a 3-pointer, Nutt drove for a basket and Smith canned another 3-pointer to make it 52-40.

Smith now has 200 career 3-pointers, only the third player in Southeast history to reach that total.

New Orleans got no closer than eight points the rest of the way as the Redhawks pulled away.

"I thought the second half we really came out and played well," Dickey Nutt said.

Senior guard Rarlensee Nelson led New Orleans with a career-high 17 points.

Southeast continues a stretch that has it playing seven of eight games away from Cape Girardeau Saturday with a 4 p.m. tipoff at Southeastern Louisiana (1-4).

The squads also met last year in Cape Girardeau, the Redhawks winning 63-61 in overtime.

Southeast concludes it rugged road stretch Tuesday night at 15th-ranked Missouri.