Final Statistics

MARTIN, Tenn. – Isiah Jones scored a game and career-high 21 points, but it wasn't enough as Southeast Missouri (9-11, 3-4) fell to UT Martin (12-7, 4-2), 70-53, Saturday night at the Elam Center.

Southeast was without its top scorer, Jarekious Bradley, who did not make the trip due to missed class time.

Jones and Antonius Cleveland stepped up in Bradley's absence, but UTM made a late run to pull away from the Redhawks.

"We played hard, had a great attitude and fought through adversity," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "We just didn't win the game. Jarekious didn't go to class and we don't run that kind of program."

Southeast pulled to within a point when Nino Johnson's layup made it a 47-46 game with 11:31 left to play.

The Redhawks later cut the Skyhawks lead to three (51-48) on Jones' jumper at the 9:50 mark, but that was as close as they would get.

Moments after Jones' free throw narrowed UTM's lead to 59-51 with 4:35 remaining, the Skyhawks answered with an 11-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Southeast missed four field goals, turned the ball over once and went scoreless for a little over four minutes. Deville Smith's layup gave UTM its largest lead of the night at 70-51 at the 1:02 mark.

Josh Langford's layup then snapped the Redhawks drought with 28 seconds left, as the Skyhawks came away with the 70-53 win.

Jones gave Southeast a nice boost early, scoring 10 points in the first 5:10 of the game. Jones made four of his first five baskets and knocked down a pair of threes to help grab the Redhawks a 14-10 lead with 14:50 left in the first half.

Ladarius Coleman came off the bench and tipped in a miss off a jumper by Langford to extend Southeast's lead to 20-15 before UTM battled back to tie the game.

Tied, 27-27, the Skyhawks led the final 3:31 of the first half and held a 40-32 lead at the intermission.

Alex Anderson buried a three-pointer on three-straight possessions to fuel a 9-3 run in the last 2:01. Anderson faded away in the right corner to get his third three to fall with one second left.

Jones shot 8-of-13 from the field as half of his makes came from three-point range. He also pulled down three rebounds, had two steals and dished out three assists in 36 minutes.

Cleveland followed with 11 points on 5-of-11 field goals. Johnson added eight points, seven rebounds and a game-high four blocks for Southeast, as well.

Four starters finished with double figures in the scoring column to lead UTM. Smith paved the way with 18 points, while Twymond Howard followed close behind with 17. Anderson and Marshun Newell turned in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

In addition, the Skyhawks shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field and outrebounded the Redhawks, 37-26. UTM also shot 14 more free throws than Southeast. The Skyhawks hit 15-of-23 free throws to Southeast's 2-of-9.

Both coaching staffs wore sneakers to support the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week. Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week is a nationwide event where coaches across the country unite for a common cause – saving lives from cancer.

Southeast returns home to host SIU Edwardsville on Jan. 29. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.