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MARTIN, Tenn. - Marcus Brister scored the game-winning basket on a layup with 12 seconds left to give Southeast Missouri (8-7, 3-0) a 73-71 victory over UT Martin (3-14, 0-4) Thursday night in a thriller at the Elam Center.
 
Brister drove the lane and banked in the game-winner off the left side of the backboard to put Southeast ahead on its final possession.
 
After a 30-second timeout, UTM inbounded the ball at halfcourt and Mike Liabo launched a three-pointer to the right of the circle that just missed as the buzzer sounded.
 
“What a difference a half makes,” said an elated Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. “I was very disappointed with how we played in the first half, but we rallied and were able to get out of here with a win.”
 
Southeast trailed by 10 (49-39) with 17:33 remaining before going on a 14-2 run to take its first lead of the game.
 
Tyler Stone scored four points and quickly chopped the Skyhawks lead to three when he threw down a one-handed slam off an in-bounds pass from Lucas Nutt under the Redhawks basket. Nick Niemczyk also buried two three-pointers before Leon Powell scored the go-ahead bucket on a jumper to give Southeast a 53-51 edge at the 13:21 mark.
 
Even better than that was how Southeast put together three-consecutive stops on the defensive end, which were huge in the end. Powell recorded two blocks and Marland Smith had a steal during that stretch.
 
“We made some great defensive plays and I was proud of the way we responded late in the game,” added Nutt. “
 
Southeast topped its ferocious comeback shooting 71.4 percent (15-of-21) in a back-and-forth second half that saw six ties and 13 lead changes. The Redhawks, who finished with a season-high .592 field goal percentage, never led by more than two points.
 
Stone, who scored only four points in the first half, dropped in 12 second-half points, despite playing the final six minutes with four fouls.
 
UTM heated up to shoot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field and drained four three-pointers in the first half.
 
Southeast started slowly, missing seven of its first eight shots, but was within two points on several occasions.
 
After Smith buried a three-pointer to cut UTM's lead to 18-16 with 9:42 left, the Skyhawks went on a 10-2 run to build a double-digit lead.
 
Troy King and Gary Love hit back-to-back threes to ignite the jaunt which ended when Myles Taylor threw down a dunk, giving the Skyhawks a 28-18 advantage at the 7:37 mark.
 
UTM stretched its lead to 12 (42-30) for the third time in the half on King's layup with 1:11 remaining, before Southeast scored five points in the final 55 seconds to close the gap to 44-35 at the break.
 
Four of Southeast's five starters scored double figures, with Stone and Niemczyk each contributing 16 points to lead the way. Stone made 7-of-14 field goals and pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while Niemczyk went 6-of-12 from the floor and shot 50 percent (3-of-6) from behind the arc.
 
Smith followed with 12 points and Brister chipped in 11. Brister also dished out a season-high seven assists.
 
Waylon Jones gave Southeast some big minutes after Powell, Michael Porter and Stone were in foul trouble.
 
Jones played six minutes off the bench and hit a free throw to tie the game at 71-71 before Brister's game-winner. He also added one rebound and a block.
 
“Waylon deserves a lot of credit,” commented Nutt. “He did some great things out there tonight.”
 
Liabo led all UTM scorers with 18 points.
 
Southeast is 3-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play for the first time since 1999-2000. That year, the Redhawks started league play at 4-0 before losing to UTM, 75-66, in Martin. Southeast is currently tied for first with No. 18 Murray State in the conference standings.

In addition, Southeast ended a four-game losing streak in Martin.
 
The Redhawks, who have won four in a row, return to action at Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 7.