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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Marland Smith scored a game-high 20 points to lead five players in double figures as Southeast Missouri (9-8, 4-1) fought off a feisty SIU Edwardsville (5-9, 3-2) team for a 85-68 win Thursday night at the Show Me Center.
 
Southeast posted its third-straight win at home, improving to 7-2 this season.
 
“I thought we picked up the tempo after the first 15 minutes of the game,” said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. “It was a total team win against a team that would not go away easily.”
 
SIUE trailed, 50-39, with 18:45 left to play in the second half before stringing together a 14-2 run to take a 52-51 lead on Derian Shaffer's layup at the 12:38 mark.
 
Michael Porter then drained a huge three-pointer off the bench to regain a two-point edge for Southeast, which would lead by no more than five points over the next 3:37.
 
Shortly after Mark Yelovich converted a three-point play to narrow the Redhawks lead to 62-60 with 8:40 remaining, Southeast used a 22-4 run to bury the Cougars for good.
 
Porter chipped in seven more points to key the stretch, adding a layup, a two-handed dunk off his own steal and another three-pointer, while SIUE went scoreless for over four minutes.
 
Nick Niemczyk's three-pointer later gave Southeast its biggest lead at 84-63 (1:41) before the Redhawks put their fourth Ohio Valley Conference win on ice.
 
Southeast had another hot start, shooting 54.3 percent (19-of-35) from the field in a first half which saw three Redhawk starters score double figures.
 
The Redhawks trailed, 22-15, after Jerome Jones converted a three-point play with 12:03 left to play, but recovered to take the lead (36-34) on Leon Powell's free throws at the 4:40 mark.
 
Jones' jumper then brought the game to a 36-36 deadlock, before Southeast closed out the half with a 10-3 run over the final 3:13.

Niemczyk and Logan Nutt buried a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions in the last 48 seconds. Nutt nailed his trey as the buzzer sounded, sending the Redhawks to a 46-39 advantage at the intermission.
 
“Logan hit one of the biggest shots of the game,” said Nutt. “It gave us some momentum heading into the locker room.”
 
Smith made 7-of-13 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws en route to his fourth 20-point effort this year. He also scored double figures for the fifth-straight time since rejoining the starting lineup on Dec. 10.
 
Niemczyk followed with 17 points, while Porter had 14, Powell finished with 13 and Tyler Stone pitched in 10. Porter shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and Powell pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, as well. Powell turned in his first double-digit scoring performance since Dec. 28.
 
Southeast shot 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the field and dished out 22 assists on the night. The Redhawks have shot 50 percent or better in all five of their league games this season. Southeast also matched a season-low in turnovers (8) and held SIUE to a .324 field goal percentage in the second half.
 
Marcus Brister had a career and game-high 10 assists.

Jones led the Cougars with 19 points.
 
The Redhawks return to action when they host Eastern Illinois Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.