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MARTIN, Tenn. -
Marland Smith scored 22 points and buried a game-high five three-pointers, while
Nick Niemczyk and
Lucas Nutt followed with 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead Southeast Missouri (14-13, 6-7) to a commanding 96-74 victory over UT Martin (7-18, 4-9) Saturday night at the Elam Center.
Southeast never trailed en route to picking up its third-consecutive win. The Redhawks also snapped a six-game Ohio Valley Conference road losing streak dating back to last season.
"We were aggressive against their matchup zone tonight," said Southeast head coach
Dickey Nutt. "It was a balanced effort. We did an excellent job of sharing the basketball."
Smith picked up where he left off at this time a week ago.
After tying a Southeast single-game record nine threes against Eastern Illinois (Feb. 9), Smith notched 18 of his points on a near-perfect 5-of-6 three-pointers in the first half to key another strong start for the Redhawks.
Smith scored 11 of his team's first 14 points of the game, nailing three treys in a span of 3:40 to quickly swing the momentum Southeast's way.
UTM simply had no answer for the Redhawks long range assault, as three others joined in. Nutt followed with three 3-pointers, while Niemczyk and
Corey Wilford contributed one apiece to grab Southeast a comfortable 50-30 lead at the intermission.
For the second-straight game, Southeast shot over 60 percent from behind the arc in the first half. The Redhawks drained 10-of-16 three-pointers for a scorching 62.5 percent. Southeast also went into the locker room with a lead of 20 or more points for the second game in a row.
Southeast led by as many as 27 (59-32) when
A.J. Jones dropped in a trifecta with 17:38 remaining.
The Skyhawks would later trim the Redhawks lead to 74-63 on a pair of free throws by Terence Smith, but that was as close as they would get.
Southeast responded by outscoring UTM, 22-11, in the last 7:52 to polish off its largest conference win this season.
The Redhawks shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the field and 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from downtown on the night. Additionally, Southeast matched a season-high 21 assists.
Smith was 8-of-11 from the floor, 5-of-7 from three and 1-of-2 at the free throw line, scoring over 20 points in his second-consecutive start.
Niemczyk, who missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, made 6-of-7 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws, as his 21 points marked a season-best.
Nutt hit 5-of-7 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws to go along with a game-high seven assists.
Nino Johnson added a game-high 11 rebounds, nine points and five blocks, as well. Johnson is now four blocks away from breaking Southeast's all-time single-season record.
Smith led all UTM scorers with 26 points, as the Skyhawks shot 37 percent (27-of-73) from the field.
Southeast scored over 90 points in an OVC road game for the first time since putting up 96 at Murray State on Jan. 8, 2007.
The Redhawks return to action at Jacksonville State on Feb. 20.