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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Southeast Missouri (15-16) overcame a 19-point deficit, but came up short in a heartbreaking 77-73 loss to Tennessee Tech (19-12) Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
 
Southeast trailed, 55-36, with 13:18 remaining in the second half before putting together a ferocious comeback.The Redhawks soared to a 30-9 run to take their first lead since the 15:24 mark in the opening stanza.
 
Corey Wilford came off the bench to score 12 of his 16 points on four three-pointers during that stretch to lead Southeast's comeback bid.
 
Nick Niemczyk also hit some big shots, pulling the Redhawks within two (64-62) on his three-pointer with 5:29 on the clock. On Southeast's next possession, Niemczyk tied the game at 64-64 (4:55).
 
Southeast took the lead when Michael Porter's two free throws made it 66-64 with 4:23 left.
 
The Redhawks later built a four-point cushion (70-66) when Tyler Stone buried a jumper, but First-Team All-OVC selection Kevin Murphy answered with back-to-back baskets to give the game its sixth tie at 70-70 (1:25).
 
Zac Swansey then drained a three-pointer at the top of the key to give the Golden Eagles a 73-70 edge with 21 seconds. Southeast turned the ball over when Porter was charged with an offensive foul on an illegal screen prior to Swansey's shot.
 
Eight seconds later, Niemczyk launched a three from the top of the circle, but his attempt bounced off the back of the rim.
 
Zach Bailey added a pair of free throws and Swansey scored two more points in the final nine seconds to help TTU escape with the 77-73 victory.
 
"We are sick to our stomachs. That game could have gone either way," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "We showed a lot of heart and I was very proud of our team."

Murphy hit the game's first two baskets to help grab TTU an early seven-point lead before Southeast answered with a 10-0 run to take its only lead of the game.
 
Stone scored seven of his 11 first-half points during that stretch which ended on Stone's three-pointer, giving the Redhawks a 10-7 lead with 15:24 remaining.
 
After Porter's tip-in off a Wilford miss pulled Southeast to within six (30-24), TTU closed out the half on a 12-3 run over the final 4:17 to take a 42-27 lead at the break.
 
TTU shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the field in the second half and 58 percent (29-of-50) for the game.

Murphy led the Golden Eagles with 24 points, while Jud Dillard followed with 18. Both scored double figures in the first half, but were held to a combined 12 points in the game's final 20 minutes.

Stone led the Redhawks with a double-double 24 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 9-of-15 from the field.

Wilford and Niemczyk added 16 points each.

"Corey really put us on his shoulders in the second half," commented Nutt.

Southeast hit 9-of-18 from three-point range and shot a scorching 70 percent (7-of-10) behind the arc in the second half.

In addition, the Redhawks outrebounded the Golden Eagles, 33-24, and held a 14-4 advantage on the offensive glass.

Southeast ends its season at 15-16 overall. The 15 victories marked the Redhawks most in a season since 2004-05.

"We certainly made some progress this year, especially in conference play," said Nutt.