SEMO hoops takes step back defensively in road loss

Southeast Missouri State junior center Nate Johnson gets tangled up against Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

FORT WAYNE. Ind. - Two men’s basketball squads met each other Saturday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. and they were heading in different directions when the game began. And based on how their inconsistent seasons have unfolded thus far, no one knows where their next steps will take them.

Purdue Fort Wayne was coming off a poor performance in which it got pounded 80-59 at Southern Illinois Edwardsville, while Southeast Missouri State was coming off a great game in which the Redhawks beat Evansville 75-73 without its top player, junior guard Eric Reed Jr. So, it was a bit perplexing that Purdue Fort Wayne methodically put SEMO away in a 78-65 win.

“We knew after getting beat (at SIUE),” second-year Redhawk coach Brad Korn said of the Mastodons, “they were going to come back and respond. They responded with a toughness on offense that I don’t know that we were quite ready for.”

Entering the game, Purdue Fort Wayne (5-5) hadn’t defended well this season or shot the 3-pointer all that well, while SEMO (5-5) was coming off a strong defensive performance against Evansville.

On Saturday, everything flipped.

The Redhawks weren’t good at all defensively, while the Mastodons got good looks from all over the court.

“Really,” Korn continued, “they were able to get whatever they wanted at the offensive end. We just didn’t have that same defensive intensity that we had the other night.”

A key reason was the fact that perhaps SEMO’s most vital defensive player didn’t play due to illness.

Junior forward Nygal Russell closed out defensive possessions against Evansville by grabbing a career-best 15 rebounds and his absence was felt on Saturday.

“Nygal is another older, experienced guy that has played in so many games,” Korn said. “You look at (Purdue Fort Wayne’s) roster, everyone is a senior or at least been in college for four years, and that stuff matters.”

As much as the Mastodons’ offense clicked in the first half, it was even more effective in the second.

Purdue Fort Wayne made over 58 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes and hit nine 3-pointers in the game.

SEMO opened the second half by closing the gap to 36-31 on a free throw by Reed Jr. However, the hope was a mirage, as Purdue Fort Wayne regained its double-digit lead by the first media timeout and really was never threatened again, as it led at one point by 18 points.

“We knew that we had to protect the paint,” Korn said. “They are good at getting downhill and getting into the paint. Maybe we put too much of an emphasis on that and just allowed for too easy of pass outs (for 3-pointers) and allowed them to get into a rhythm early.”

Redhawk Notes: SEMO continues battles with health as much as opposition

Tom Davis

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- It has been a challenge for second-year Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Brad Korn to get a true assessment of his team through 10 games this season. After all, Korn has rarely had his entire roster available for any specific game due to illnesses and injuries.

For the second straight game, freshman guard Phillip Russell led the Redhawks in scoring, this time with 17 points.

Reed Jr. returned to score 14 points, while Chris Harris chipped in 11.

Harris grabbed a team-best six rebounds, while sophomore guard DQ Nicholas had five.

Harris also passed for a team-best three assists.

“We were right there,” Korn said of being down six at halftime. “We were thinking that we were going to turn the corner. They had really controlled most of the first half. We felt like we could turn the corner and make that stride once we finally settled in. But we just didn’t.

“We just couldn’t get it clicking.”

The Redhawks will travel to Southern Illinois (5-4) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.