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MURRAY, Ky. -
A.J. Jones scored 20 points to lead five players in double figures, as Southeast Missouri (16-15, 8-8) posted a convincing 84-68 win over Murray State (20-9, 10-6) Saturday night in the regular-season finale.
Southeast ended a five-game losing streak in Murray and beat the Racers on their homecourt for the first time since 2006-07. The Redhawks also swept the Austin Peay/Murray State road swing for the first time in school history.
"We are playing our best basketball right now. I want to thank our fans for coming and sharing this victory with us tonight," said Southeast head coach
Dickey Nutt. "We are playing with a lot of confidence."
Jones, who also had 20 points when these teams met in Cape Girardeau back on Jan. 5, heated up to score 15 points in only eight first-half minutes.
Southeast again started red-hot from three-point range, shooting over 70 percent from behind the arc in the opening period for the second-straight game.
Two days after knocking down an Ohio Valley Conference single-game record 20 threes (13 in the first half) at Austin Peay, the Redhawks, this time, buried 9-of-12 threes for a sizzling 75 percent.
Jones scored 11 of Southeast's first 13 points, knocking down three 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. His third trifecta gave the Redhawks a six-point lead and ignited a 12-4 run which resulted in his team grabbing a double-digit advantage.
Corey Wilford drained a three-pointer and completed a four-point play at the end of that surge, giving Southeast a 22-11 lead with 11:32 left to play.
The Racers regrouped to take a 33-32 lead on Isaiah Canaan's three-pointer at the 5:36 mark, but Southeast answered with a 15-6 run to pull ahead at the break.
Wilford,
Nick Niemczyk and
Tyler Stone each made a three-pointer to key that stretch which put the Redhawks up, 47-39, at the intermission.
Murray State managed to slice Southeast's lead to five on three occasions in the second half, but never let up, despite having four players with four fouls.
Jones picked up his fourth foul and Latreze Mushatt hit a free throw to make it a 64-59 game at the 5:23 mark. However, Jones turned around to nail a three-pointer on the Redhawks next possession.
Southeast then made 10-straight free throws in the final 1:45 to polish off its fifth win in seven games.
Jones never missed, hitting 6-of-6 field goals, including all four of his three-point attempts. He added 4-of-4 free throws and had six rebounds, as well.
"I was focused and felt good out there," said Jones. "I love my teammates and don't want to let our seniors down. We played hard and got two big road wins this week."
Wilford followed with 16 points and hit 5-of-9 threes, while Niemczyk followed with 14, Stone pitched in 13 and
Nino Johnson finished with 11. Johnson and Stone each added six boards, as Southeast outrebounded the Racers, 39-33.
In addition, Southeast shot a season-best 95.2 percent (20-of-21) at the free throw line. The Redhawks made 14-of-14 free throws in the second half. Additionally, Southeast shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field and made 10 or more three-pointers (12-of-19) for the sixth-straight game.
Canaan led the Racers with 22 points, while Ed Daniel had a double-double 12 points and 11 rebounds. In Canaan's last home game, he let teammate and fellow senior Jordan Burge take his spot in the starting lineup. Burge, who walked on as a freshman, has 105 career wins and three OVC Championship rings, but no points. Canaan's 22 points left him with 1,999 in his career.
Murray State shot just 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the field.
Tonight marked Nutt's 500th career game in 17 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Southeast, which finished tied for fifth in the OVC with Morehead State (earned the No. 5 seed based on the tiebreaker), will open postseason play against seventh-seeded Eastern Illinois on Mar. 6. The Redhawks and Panthers will tip-off at 8 p.m., CT, in the first round of the OVC Tournament at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.