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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri (4-4) needed a pick-me-up and received one in impressive fashion, steamrolling Hannibal-LaGrange (1-6), 96-55, Monday night at the Show Me Center.

Southeast, which played its fifth game in nine days, ended a three-game losing streak and stayed unbeaten (3-0) at home this season.

A.J. Jones scored a game-high 24 points, including 21 in the second half, during his first game off the bench. Jones was one of five Redhawks who scored double figures in the balanced effort.

"I thought we shot the ball with confidence," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "Regardless of the score, we gave an honest effort."

Southeast never let up from start to finish en route to its second thrashing of an NAIA opponent.

The Redhawks scored the first eight points of the game and built an early 11-3 lead. Southeast made four-straight free throws and capped the quick surge with Tyler Stone's three-pointer at the 15:07 mark.

Preston Steinhoff's conventional three-point play later cut Southeast's lead to four (18-14) with 11:06 remaining before the Redhawks answered with nine of the game's next 11 points to take their first double-digit lead.

Nino Johnson's jumper ignited a 9-2 jaunt that ended with a streak of five-consecutive free throws to grab Southeast a 27-16 advantage with 7:29 left to play. Johnson also accounted for all of the free throws during that stretch.

Southeast then used a 10-2 spurt over the final 3:02 to take a comfortable 45-27 halftime lead. The Redhawks revved up their home crowd with dunks on three-consecutive possessions just before the intermission.

The Redhawks were well in control with a 73-45 lead at the 9:21 mark in the second half when they pieced together a 23-3 run to build their biggest lead of the night.

Jones drained four three-pointers and scored 14 of his points during that stretch which lifted Southeast to a 96-48 lead with 3:50 left.

Nick Niemczyk, Colin Ferguson and Jared White also added to the flurry which put the finishing touches on the win.

"We had a lot of bright spots and I was pleased with our depth," said Nutt.

Jones shot 9-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range. He also dished out three assists and had one steal in 20 minutes.

Johnson followed with 17 points and seven rebounds, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and a near-perfect 7-of-8 at the free throw line. 

Stone contributed 13 points and seven boards, posting double figures in the scoring column for the seventh game in a row.

Marland Smith added 12 points, while Corey Wilford chipped in 11.

Southeast shot a season-best 64.3 percent (36-of-56) from the field and made 21-of-30 field goals for a blistering 70 percent in the second half. The Redhawks poured in a season-high 11 three-pointers and shot 81.3 percent (13-of-16, all in the first half) at the free throw line.

Jurgen Lico led the Trojans with 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench.

Additionally, Southeast scored 21 transition points, outrebounded Hannibal-LaGrange, 39-24, and held a +24 margin (42-18) inside the paint.

"We came off a tough road trip and this was a get well game for us," said Nutt. "We needed this tonight"

Southeast begins a three-game road trip at New Orleans Thursday. After that, the Redhawks visit Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1 and Missouri on Dec. 4.