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Corey Wilford

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

Redhawks Tame Lions, 61-58, Win Third in a Row

Redhawks bust Southeastern Louisiana's 31-game homecourt winning streak in non-conference games

Corey Wilford scored a game-high 18 points, made a perfect 5-of-5 threes and knocked down a free throw with three seconds left against Southeastern Louisiana
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HAMMOND, La. - Southeast Missouri wrecked Southeastern Louisiana's 31-game non-conference home winning streak when it escaped with a 61-58 victory Saturday afternoon at the University Center.

Corey Wilford scored a game-high 18 points, made a perfect 5-of-5 three-pointers and secured Southeast's victory when he split a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds on the clock.

Southeast (6-4) became the first non-league team to beat Southeastern on its homecourt since Jackson State won , 81-73, on Nov. 28, 2006. The Lions, now 1-5, on the season are 50-3 in non-conference home games dating back to 2003-04.

The Redhawks led, 58-48, with 2:07 left to play when Southeastern went on a 10-3 run.

Southeast turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions and the Lions capitalized with a Dre Evans three-pointer and two free throws by Brandon Fortenberry to pull to within three (59-56) with 32 seconds left.

Jeremy Campbell's tip-in later cut the lead to two (60-58) with five seconds remaining before Wilford's free throw held up after Fortenberry's desperation heave bounced off the backboard at the buzzer.

"It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "We are extremely excited to get out of Louisiana with two wins. I thought we tried to give the game away at times, but hung on down the stretch. It was a great win for us."

Wilford scored 11 of his points in the first half, as the Redhawks led by as many as 18.

Southeast trailed 10-7 with 14:37 in the opening stanza, but used a 20-0 run to pull away.

Roosevelt Johnson gave Southeastern its tree-point edge before the Lions missed their next 12 shots and committed four turnovers against a smothering Redhawk defense. Smith's free throws capped the stretch, giving Southeast a 29-11 lead with 4:54 left to play.

Southeastern did not score again until the 5:24 mark of the first half when Todd Nelson hit the second of two free throws, and the Redhawks took a 31-20 halftime advantage.

Wilford scored double figures for the sixth time in seven games. He also added four rebounds, four assists and a steal in a game-high 39 minutes.

Tyler Stone followed with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Nino Johnson chipped in a double-double 10 points and career-high 16 boards.

Smith was the fourth Southeast player in double figures with 10 points.

Southeast shot an Ohio Valley Conference single-game high 81.8 percent from three-point range, burying 9-of-11 attempts.

The Redhawks shot 46.7 percent (21-of-45) from the field, heating up to sink 52.2 percent (12-of-23) of their shots in the first half.

Meanwhile, free throws were different story. Although the Redhawks made just enough down the stretch to win the game, they struggled to a 52.6 percent (10-of-19) clip. Southeast was 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) at the free throw line in the second half alone.

Defensivley, Southeast held its opponent under 40 percent from the field for the 10th-straight game. Southeastern shot 32.3 percent (20-of-62).

Fortenberry led Southeastern with 12 points.

Southeast closes out its rugged road stretch at in-state rival and nationally-ranked Missouri on Dec. 4.

After next week's trip to Missouri, the Redhawks will have logged a total of 3,795 miles via charter bus to six different stops, including Lawrence, Kan., Chattanooga, Tenn., Chicago, Ill., New Orleans, La., Hammond, La. and Columbia, Mo. That covers eight games outside of Cape Girardeau.

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