CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri (2-5, 1-2) had just 191 total yards and only 52 in the second half during a 27-10 loss to #14 Eastern Kentucky (4-2, 3-0) Saturday in front of a Homecoming crowd of 7,589 at Houck Stadium.
 
Southeast was tied with EKU, 10-10, at halftime, but ran into a buzz saw in the second half.
 
"They tightened everything up in the second half and we couldn't get anything going on offense," said Southeast head coach Tom Matukewicz. "We tried to hang onto the ball longer and throw downfield, and they got a lot of sacks. Our offense simply didn't play well in the second half."
 
EKU scored 17 unanswered points in the game's final two quarters, becoming the second team to shutout the Redhawks in the second half this season.
 
Bryan Green caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Bennie Coney to give EKU its first lead of the game at 17-10 with 11:22 left to play in the third quarter.
 
Coney later threw a 7-yard pass to Joel Brown (14:20) and Lucas Williams kicked a 32-yard field goal (2:02) in the fourth quarter to polish off the 27-10 win.
 
Defensively, the Colonels held Southeast to a mere 31 rushing yards, allowing just one yard per attempt. EKU added three sacks for a loss of 18 yards and had 10 tackles for a loss of 35.
 
"There was a lot of frustration on offense," added Matukewicz. "Eastern Kentucky doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. They are a very good football team."
 
Southeast was behind 17-10 when EKU faked a punt on a fourth-and-9 at the Redhawks 38-yard line. The final play of the third quarter, the turning point in the game, resulted in punter Keith Wrzuszczak completing a 16-yard pass to Barton Mann.
 
Five plays later Coney threw his second touchdown.
 
Paul McRoberts gave Southeast a big spark with a career-high 10 catches for 93 yards in the first half alone. McRoberts, however, did not have a reception in the final 30 minutes.
 
McRoberts tied the school's all-time career touchdown reception record when he scored on a 3-yard pass from Dante Vandeven to give Southeast a 7-0 lead with 5:34 remaining in the first quarter.
 
McRoberts jumped to make a great catch on a fourth-down fade in the corner of the end zone. It was his 26^th career touchdown reception, as he now stands tied with Willie Ponder (2001-02) at the top of the list.
 
Adam Lane's 6-yard run tied the game at the 13:06 mark before Ryan McCrum kicked a 20-yard field goal to put the Redhawks ahead, 10-7, with 8:53 left in the second quarter.
 
Williams' 27-yard field goal then brought the game to a 10-10 deadlock at intermission.
 
McRoberts made his debut as a punt returner for Southeast, running back three punts for 37 yards. His first career return went for 29 yards.
 
"Paul gave us a nice boost," said Matukewicz. "It will be the plan to use him more in the return game moving forward."
 
Vandeven also completed 24-of-36 passes for 160 yards.
 
Defensively, freshman Stephon Williams and Roper Garrett led the Redhawks with eight tackles each. Williams finished as the team's leading tackler for the second-straight week.
 
Madon had a career game at tight end, notching six catches for 117 yards, while Coney threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns.  
 
EKU finished with 404 yards of total offense.
 
Trey Thomas and Tyrell Curry turned in eight tackles apiece while Noah Spence followed with seven. Spence also had a game-high 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
 
Southeast, which dropped to 12-13 in Homecoming games since joining the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 1991, is idle next week.
 
The Redhawks will be back in action when they host Tennessee Tech on Oct. 31.