I hope I SEMO basketball Thursday

SIUC assistant men’s basketball coach Virgil Motsinger will have mixed emotions when the Salukis battle Southeast Missouri State University tonight at the Arena.

For the first time, Motsinger and SEMO forward Calvert White will line up on the opposing sides of the court. Motsinger coached White when the two were at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg from 1994-96. Motsinger joined the Saluki coaching staff this season after spending 35 years at Southeastern.

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Motsinger said he and White, a native of the Virgin Islands, developed a strong relationship during their two years together. As a prep, White had the luxury of playing against former Wake Forest University star and current San Antonio Spur Tim Duncan.

We were very close. He came here from the Virgin Islands after high school and didn’t know anyone, and for about a year I was sort of his surrogate father, Motsinger said. That role has kind of diminished, but he will always be one of my former players. I want him to play well, but his team has to get beat because we need a win.

At 2-4, the Salukis are searching for a victory after falling to the University of Hawaii 80-66 Sunday. SIUC has won the last four games in the series with SEMO, but the Indians’ solid start this season has earned the praise of Saluki head coach Rich Herrin.

SEMO is 4-2 under the guidance of first-year head coach Gary Garner, who led Fort Hays State University to the NCAA Division II championship in 1996. His team has defeated Bradley University and Austin Peay State University this year, and the Indians also played the University of Colorado before losing 62-59 in Boulder.

This is SEMO’s best team in years, Herrin said. They’ve got off to good start and could easily be 6-0. (SEMO) beat Bradley, and Bradley beat Michigan. That should give a good idea that SEMO is a pretty good basketball team.

SEMO senior center Bud Eley’s 17.2 points per game leads a team that features five starters scoring in double figures. Forward David Montgomery (10.3 ppg) and White (11.4) provide Eley with help on the inside. Three-point shooters Cory Johnson and Kahn Cotton make it difficult for opponents to double-team in the post, as the two combine to shoot 48 percent (36-for-73) from beyond the arc.

Bud Eley is a big-league talented individual, Herrin said. They can shoot the three, and Montgomery is a mystery player inside. They’re just a veteran basketball team with a lot of experienced junior college players, and they are having fun playing basketball right now.

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While SEMO has stepped it up against a higher level of competition, the Salukis have played well in the first half of several big games. But late-second half collapses have been a problem for SIUC all season.

SIUC led the University of Miami Nov. 14 by 12 points at halftime, only to be outscored by 23 in the second half in an 81-73 loss. A Nov. 29 game against St. Louis University saw the Salukis blow an eight-point lead with two minutes and 38 seconds remaining in an 85-76 loss.

We just haven’t played 40 minutes, senior forward Rashad Tucker said. Every game we’ve been in it and just let it slip away at the end. We’ve just got to put it together and stop playing 25 and 30 minutes.

For Tucker, tonight’s matchup also gives him an opportunity to get reacquainted with White. The two competed against each other while Tucker played at Lincoln College.

But in Tucker’s case, the reunion will not be as sincere.

I played against (White) when I was in junior college, and I kind of gave him the business, Tucker said. So, I’m just going to look forward to playing him again and let him know nothing has changed.

The Salukis return home for a battle against Southeast Missouri State University at 7:05 tonight at the Arena.

The game can be heard on 95.1 WXLT-FM or at http://www.siu.edu/~athletic.