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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Donte Poole drained four three-pointers and scored 25 points to lead No. 14/16 Murray State (25-1, 13-1) to a 75-66 win over Southeast Missouri (14-12, 9-5) Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 7,125 at the Show Me Center.

Murray State remained unbeaten on the road (11-0) en route to clinching its third-straight Ohio Valley Conference title.

"I'm disappointed we sent our fans home with a loss in this highly-anticipated game," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "We still have a lot of basketball left to play and I don't take anything away from our team."

Southeast struggled to get shots to fall in the first half, making just 8-of-30 field goals.
 
Despite the slow start, the Redhawks never trailed by more than four points until the last 6:22.

Poole, however, hit all four of his three-pointers in the first half, including two during a stretch of eight-straight points that put Murray State ahead, 32-20, with 54 seconds left.
 
Marland Smith's two free throws narrowed Murray State's lead to 32-22 at the half, Southeast's first double-digit halftime deficit since trailing UMKC, 41-28, on Dec. 10.

Southeast cut an 11-point deficit to five (33-28) at the 17:25 mark of the second half when Marland Smith buried back-to-back three-pointers, but that was as close as Southeast would get.

Ed Daniel's layup gave the Racers their biggest lead of the night at 47-34 (10:47) before Murray State went on to pick up its second-straight win since getting upset at home by Tennessee State.

Southeast held Isaiah Canaan, the Ohio Valley Conference's second-leading scorer with a 19.6 average, scoreless for the first 17 minutes. Canaan finished with nine points on 2-of-11 shooting after finishing 32 in the first meeting against the Redhawks on Feb. 2.

"We really tried to put a lot of emphasis on Canaan," said Nutt.

Poole led four Murray State starters in double figures, shooting 7-of-13 from the field. He also added 7-of-9 free throws, four rebounds and two steals.

Aska followed with 14 points, while Daniel and Jewuan Long each pitched in 10.

Leon Powell led Southeast with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Corey Wilford chipped in 12 points with three 3-pointers in the second half. Tyler Stone, the Redhawks top scorer with 15 points per game, was held scoreless for the first time this season. Stone played 15 minutes.

Lucas Nutt and Smith followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

"I want to credit Coach Nutt and Southeast Missouri," added Murray State first-year head coach Steve Prohm. "Coach Nutt has done a great job and Southeast Missouri is a good basketball team."

Southeast's .373 (22-of-59) field goal percentage marked a season-low.

The Redhawks honored their seniors -- Powell, Marcus Brister, Logan Nutt, Zach House -- prior to tip-off. Tonight's home finale was the first time Southeast faced a ranked opponent at the Show Me Center, and it attracted the fifth-largest crowd in school history.

"There was nothing like the atmosphere tonight," commented Brister. "I really appreciate the support from our fans."

The Redhawks finished with a 10-4 record at home this year.

Southeast hits the road for its final three games of the regular-season. The Redhawks will step out of conference play to travel to McNeese State for a Sears BracketBuster matchup Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m., CT.