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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -
Marland Smith scored a team-high 24 points, while
Leon Powell added a double-double 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Southeast Missouri (10-8, 5-1) to an 80-73 win over Eastern Illinois (9-7, 2-2) Saturday night at the Show Me Center.
Southeast, which improved to 5-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play, matched its season-total in wins from a year ago.
“I thought we played 20 minutes of good basketball,” said Southeast head coach
Dickey Nutt. “I'm proud of how we hung in there and handled adversity.”
Southeast rode the hot hand of Smith, who scored 21 of his points on seven three-pointers in the first half.
The Panther defense had no answer for Smith early on, who connected on three of his first four attempts from behind the arc.
After EIU pulled to within one (20-19) on Zavier Sanders' jumper with 8:51 left, Southeast buried a three-pointer on three-straight possessions to key an 11-2 run. Smith added two more trifectas before
Nick Niemczyk knocked down another to push the Redhawks lead to 31-21 at the 6:48 mark.
Smith then scored the final six points of the half on a pair of three-pointers in a period of 1:32 to get Southeast a comfortable 44-29 lead at the break.
“I was surprised how open I was,” said Smith. “I hit my first couple shots and it felt good.”
Southeast shot 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from three-point range in the first half. Smith made 7-of-10, while Niemczyk followed with 2-of-4 and
Lucas Nutt chipped in 1-of-2. Smith matched his career-high over just 15 minutes in the opening stanza.
While Smith put on a show in the first half, it was Jeremy Granger who made things interesting in the game's final 20 minutes.
Granger, after scoring only six points in the first half, dropped in 25 points on 7-of-9 field goals in the second.
Defensively, EIU made some adjustments, and as a result, held Smith and Niemczyk to a combined four points in the second half.
Southeast, however, responded by pounding the ball inside.
Tyler Stone (12) and Powell (13) each scored double figures underneath to help fight off EIU's late rally.
The Panthers, who trailed by as many as 17 (46-29), sliced the Redhawks lead to single-digits when Granger's three made it a 71-64 game with 4:40 left.
L.C. Doss hit a layup on EIU's next possession, but Powell answered with a two-handed jam off a
Lucas Nutt pass.
Powell then made a big play on the defensive end when he blocked a shot off Doss' head that went out of bounds. Powell made a layup to give the Redhawks a 75-68 lead with 47 seconds on that ensuing possession.
EIU would pull to within five points on three other occasions over the final seconds, but that was as close as the Panthers would get.
Southeast, which has won six of its last seven games, remained undefeated (4-0) at home in league play this season. The Redhawks also ran their homecourt record to 8-2.
Smith shot 8-of-13 from the field en route to scoring 20 or more points for the fifth time this year. He has pitched in double figures in nine-straight games.
Stone followed with 18 points on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. He had a game-high two blocks, as well.
Powell posted his team-high fourth double-double. He shot 6-of-12 from the field and had eight offensive rebounds.
“Leon was a warrior tonight,” commented Nutt. “I can't say enough about his effort.”
Nutt dished out a game-high seven assists.
Southeast shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field on the night. The Redhawks, who were outscored, 44-36, in the second half, shot over 50 percent (.550) from three-point range for just the second time this season.
In addition, the Redhawks outrebounded the Panthers, 39-24, and held a 15-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Those offensive rebounds led to 16 second chance points. Southeast's +15 rebounding margin matched a season-best.
Granger, who dropped in a game-high 31 points, went 10-of-16 from the field, knocked down three 3-pointers and added 8-of-9 free throws to lead EIU.
Southeast will return to action at Tennessee Tech on Jan. 21.
