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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Tyler Stone scored a game-high 28 points to lead Southeast Missouri (14-13, 5-8) to a 87-70 win over Jacksonville State (10-19, 4-10) Thursday night in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Show Me Center.
 
With the win, Southeast moved into a tie for eighth in the league standings (with Austin Peay) as it continues to fight for one of the remaining five OVC Tournament berths.

"We control our own destiny," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "I thought we played well and had a total team win tonight. We played with swagger even though we got down early."
 
The +17 margin of victory marked the Redhawks largest in a OVC home game since they beat UT Martin, 86-56, on Feb. 9, 2012.

Southeast fell behind by five points midway through the first half, but recovered to pick up its second win in three games.

The Redhawks shot 63.6 percent (21-of-33) from the field and brought the game to its seventh tie, a 34-34 deadlock on a Paul McRoberts layup.
 
McRoberts' make turned into a 14-4 run over the last 4:46 of the half as Southeast pulled ahead, 48-38, at intermission.

McRoberts, one of four different Redhawks who scored in that stretch, knocked down a three-pointer two possessions after his own layup. Stone added five more points, while Nino Johnson and Jarekious Bradley tossed in three apiece. Bradley hit the final shot of the half on a three at the buzzer.
 
Southeast man-handled JSU inside the paint, outscoring the Gamecocks, 32-8, in the first half alone. Stone (14), Bradley (11) and Johnson (10) all scored double figures. Bradley, who injured his left knee early in the first half against UT Martin eight days ago, came off the bench to score his first 11 points in 15 minutes.
 
The Redhawks carried their momentum into the second half and used an 11-2 run to widen their lead. Stone accounted for all but two of Southeast's points in that span as JSU missed its first six field goals.
 
After scoring the first six points to get the Redhawks going, Stone converted a three-point play to end the surge and give Southeast a 59-40  advantage with 14:41 remaining.
 
Darion Rackley's three-pointer narrowed Southeast's lead to 72-60 with 5:25 on the clock, but that was as close as the Gamecocks would get.

The Redhawks then countered with a 15-5 run to build its largest lead of the night at 87-65. Caleb Woods buried a jumper with 30 seconds left before Southeast put its win on ice.

Stone shot 11-of-17 from the field and 6-of-9 at the free throw line en route to his sixth 20-point game in nine starts. He also had nine rebounds and gathered a game-high two blocks.

Bradley followed with 15 points in 28 minutes. He made 7-of-14 field goals, grabbed three rebounds and had two steals.

"We saw tonight how much we missed Jarekious in our last game and what he does for our team," said Nutt.

Johnson turned in a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first start since Jan. 25 (vs. Eastern Illinois). He made 4-of-6 from the field and 6-of-8 at the free throw line.

"Nino set the tone and got out of the block early," added Nutt. "He was a difference-maker."

Meanwhile, McRoberts chipped in 14 points, three rebounds and one steal.

Southeast shot 56.5 percent (35-of-62) on the night and scored 58 of its points in the paint. JSU had no answer for the Redhawk bigs, who held a commanding +42 (58-16) advantage.

Rackley led all JSU scorers with 27 points off the bench, as the Gamecocks shot under 30 percent (29.0, 9-of-31) in the second half.

Southeast travels to UT Martin for its final regular-season road game Saturday.