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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Hayden Johnson scored 22 points to lead four players in double figures, as Harding University defeated Southeast Missouri, 68-63, Monday in exhibition play at the Show Me Center.
 
Southeast nearly overcame a 19-point deficit when Lucas Nutt buried a three-pointer to make it a 62-60 game with 2:01 left to play.
 
That, however, was as close as the Redhawks would get, as the Bison made 6-of-8 free throws to seal the win down the stretch.
 
“We're disappointed with the way we played tonight,” said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. “We expected to win this game and we didn't. This was a big wake-up call and we have a lot of work to do.”
 
Southeast missed 11 of its first 12 field goals and fell victim to an 18-2 run early in the first half.
 
Tyler Stone scored the first points of the game on a layup one minute in, but the Redhawks went scoreless for over eight minutes after that.
 
Corey Wilford came off the bench to break the drought with a layup at the 11:22 mark.
 
Southeast managed to cut the deficit to single digits (31-22) when Nick Niemczyk knocked down a wide open three-pointer from the right wing, but Harding took a 33-23 lead at the half.
 
The Bisons shot a red-hot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from three-point range in the opening stanza.
 
Meanwhile, the Redhawks hit just 24.1 percent (7-of-29) of its field goals and went 1-of-5 (20 percent) from downtown.
 
Southeast outscored Harding, 40-35, in the second half, but struggled to get the stops it needed on the defensive end.
 
“We had to play catch-up. We weren't good defensively from top to bottom,” said Nutt. “We faced an experienced team which really got after us.”
 
Johnson shot 7-of-11 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the free throw line en route to his game-high 22 points. He also finished with six rebounds and scored 14 of his points in the first half.
 
Bradley Spencer and DeAntra Smith followed with 11 points apiece, while Zach Roddenberry added a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Harding.
 
Stone led Southeast with a double-double 18 points and 12 rebounds. Nutt also chipped in 18 points, four assists and two steals. In addition, Nutt went 33 minutes without a turnover.
 
The Redhawks lost Leon Powell on the first play of the game when he came down awkwardly on the same knee he injured two years ago.
 
“Leon will get an x-ray first thing in the morning,” said Nutt. “Hopefully, it's just a sprain.”
 
Southeast will tip off its 2011-12 season at No. 25 Missouri on Nov. 11. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT. That game will be televised live on Fox Sports MSN and ESPN3.com.