Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

Ads location

Events and results

Schedule

Upcoming

Results

Corey Wilford

Men's Basketball By Jeff Honza, Southeast Missouri Sports Information

Wilford's Big Second Half Propels Redhawks to 77-65 Win

Corey Wilford erupted for 21 second-half points to key Southeast's victory over Chattanooga
Final Statistics | Final Statistics in PDF Format

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Corey Wilford scored a career-high 21 points off the bench to lead Southeast Missouri (3-1) to a 77-65 victory over Chattanooga (1-2) Sunday afternoon in the CBE Classic.

Wilford scored all of his points in the second half and finished with 6-of-10 field goals, 3-of-6 three-pointers and a perfect 6-of-6 free throws in 29 minutes.

Southeast never trailed en route to picking up its first road win of the season. The Redhawks also won their third-straight game.

"Corey went crazy and our defense was solid in both halves," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "Our guys showed a lot of discipline today."

Southeast started the game on a 7-0 run, as Chattanooga went over four minutes without a field goal. Tyler Stone dunked his first two points before Nino Johnson added a layup and A.J. Jones buried a three-pointer to grab the Redhawks an early lead.

The Redhawks pushed their lead to nine (27-18) when Marland Smith came off the bench to score his first three-point attempt with 3:22 left.

Nick Niemczyk was later fouled with 0.7 seconds on the clock and hit two free throws to give Southeast a 29-23 edge at the intermission.

Southeast shot 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the field with four of its makes coming on threes. Jones accounted for two of the Redhawks three-pointers and scored eight points. Southeast also limited Chattanooga to just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field in the opening stanza.

The Redhawks didn't let up in the second half, outscoring the Mocs, 15-7, in the first 5:43 to build their first double-digit lead.

Wilford keyed the surge with six points before Smith's second three-pointer widened Southeast's lead to 44-30 at the 14:17 mark.

Chattanooga managed to cut Southeast's lead to single digits on several occasions, but Southeast always had an answer.

After Gee McGee's three-pointer narrowed the lead to 46-37 (11:49), Jones responded with a jumper. Z. Mason then sliced the lead to nine again on a layup (48-39) and pair of free throws (53-44), but Stone scored on a layup and slammed an alley-oop pass in transition.

Wilford helped the Redhawks blow the game open when he scored five-straight points to spark a 12-4 run in a span of 3:18.

Southeast led, 59-50, when Wilford made a jumper and followed that up with a three-pointer. He added a steal, two free throws and knocked down another trey during that stretch that ended on a Smith layup which increased the Redhawks lead to 71-54 with 3:48 left to play.

Wilford led four Redhawks in double figures. Stone followed with a double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Smith contributed 16 points in 31 minutes off the bench. Jones chipped in 10 points, as well.

Southeast shot over 50 percent (.553) from the field and won by double figures for the third-straight game. It marked the first time since 2007-08 that the Redhawks have won three-consecutive games by 10 or more points.

In addition, Southeast heated up to shoot 69.6 (16-of-23) from the field in the second half.

Drazen Zlovaric and Z. Mason led Chattanooga with 14 points apiece.

Former Southeast and Chattanooga head coach Ron Shumate attended today's game at McKenzie Arena. Shumate went 139-61 from 1973-79 as head coach at Chattanooga and 306-171 at the Southeast helm.

The Redhawks resume action in the CBE Classic against Louisiana Tech Monday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m., CT.
Print Friendly Version