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MARTIN, Tenn. - Freshman Antonius Cleveland banked in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to help Southeast Missouri (15-13, 6-8) escape with a thrilling 77-74 win over UT Martin (3-21, 3-11) Saturday at the Elam Center.

Dee Oldham made two free throws to tie the game at 74-74 with 4.3 seconds on the clock. Southeast inbounded the ball to Cleveland who dribbled to halfcourt and launched his desperation shot. The ball banked off the glass and went through the net as time expired.

"When I got the ball, I knew I had to go," said Cleveland. "I wanted to get in a good position to get a shot off and it felt good when it left my hand. I knew it had a chance. We really needed this win and it felt good when the ball went in."

Southeast rushed the court to celebrate Cleveland's game-winner, which sent the Redhawks to their second-straight victory and third in four contests.

The Redhawks lost on buzzer-beaters away from home at Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky this season, and fell in overtime at SIU Edwardsville after the Cougars hit a shot to tie the game with less than a second left in regulation. However, this time, it was Southeast which came out on top.

"We finally got a game like this to go our way," said an elated Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "It couldn't happen to a better guy than Antonius. He did some really good things for us tonight."

Southeast led, 35-28, at the half, but UTM regrouped to turn things into a flair for the dramatic in the game's final 20 minutes.

Moments after Oldham made a layup to give the Skyhawks a 39-38 lead with 16:58 left to play, UTM went on a 10-3 run to build an eight-point lead. Myles Taylor's jumper capped the surge at the 12:15 mark.

Justin Childs' jumper gave UTM another eight-point cushion (51-43) with 11:29 on the clock before Southeast countered with eight of the next 11 points.

Cleveland threw down a dunk to cut the lead to 54-51 with just under eight minutes left and Jarekious Bradley split a pair of free throws to make it a two-point game.

Southeast pulled to within two twice more when Cleveland made a layup and converted a big four-point play after being fouled on a made three. After that, things went haywire in the last five minutes.

Tyler Stone's layup tied the game at 60-60 on the Redhawks next possession. The deadlock was one of six ties in the final 4:09 as neither team led by more than three.

UT Martin pulled ahead, 72-69, on Marshun Newell's three-pointer with 56 seconds left, but Bradley answered with a clutch three of his own to tie the game at 72-72 eight ticks later.

Bradley then made two free throws to give Southeast a 74-72 advantage with 15 seconds remaining before Oldham's two free throws set up the exciting finish.

Southeast made eight of its first 12 field goals to ignite a 20-8 run in the first 9:30 of the game.
 
The Redhawks hot start saw the frontcourt tandem of Stone and Nino Johnson team up for all but nine of the points during that span. Stone scored the first basket off the opening tip and Johnson contributed seven of his 12 first-half points over that period.
 
Newell buried a three-pointer to narrow Southeast's lead to 31-27 with 1:45 left before the Redhawks went into the locker room with the lead.
 
Although Southeast did not make a three-pointer (0-of-6) in the first half for the second time this season, the Redhawks got to the free throw line often. Southeast made 13-of-20 free throws, attempting 12 more than UTM in the opening stanza alone.

Bradley led the Redhawks with 22 points on 8-of-15 field goals and 5-of-7 free throws. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Cleveland followed with 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Johnson added 13 points and eight rebounds, despite fouling out with over three minutes left in the game. Stone rounded out Southeast's double-digit scorers with a double-double 12 points and 11 boards.

Southeast shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field and made 50 percent (14-of-28) of its attempts in the second half. The Redhawks also made 24-of-35 free throws.

Additionally, Lucas Nutt broke Southeast's all-time career record in games started. Nutt started for the 102nd time in his career, surpassing Derek Winans (101, 2001-05) for the new mark.

Terence Smith led UTM with a game-high 23 points, while Oldham and Newell chipped in 19 and 16 points, respectively.

The Skyhawks, like Southeast, shot well better in the second half, making 17-of-32 shots for 53.1 percent.

Southeast returns home for its final leg of the regular-season next week. The Redhawks host Ohio Valley Conference West Division rivals Austin Peay on Feb. 27 and Murray State on Mar. 1.