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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jarekious Bradley scored a game-high 23 points and eighth-seeded Southeast Missouri (13-17) committed 17 turnovers in a 79-74 loss to fifth-seeded Morehead State (16-16) Wednesday night during the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
 
Southeast outweighed MSU by a +9 margin in turnovers and that was the difference in the end.
 
"We're disappointed," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "I thought we did some good things against a good Morehead State team. The turnovers were costly and we had a hard time stopping them defensively."
 
The Redhawks and Eagles exchanged baskets in a game that featured 18 ties and 17 lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points in the second half until the final second.
 
After Antonius Cleveland split a pair of free throws to tie things up at 70-70 with less than two minutes left, MSU managed to pull away down the stretch.
 
Angelo Warner responded with a jumper and added a free throw to give the Eagles a 73-70 edge before Bradley drove the lane and threw down a dunk to pull Southeast to within a point with 39 seconds.
 
Warner and Cleveland traded free throws, with each making two apiece, as the Redhawks trailed, 75-74, with 10 ticks on the clock.
 
Moments after Kareem Storey knocked down two free throws to push MSU's lead to 77-74 a second later, Jamaal Calvin's three-pointer bounce off the rim with two seconds remaining.
 
Warner's last two free throws polished off the 79-74 victory for the Eagles. Warner, who did not play in the earlier meeting between these teams on Jan. 8, scored 16 points off the bench, including seven in the final 1:36.
 
Southeast started strong, shooting 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the field in the first half.
 
The Redhawks won the opening tip and quickly took a 5-0 lead when Isiah Jones knocked down a three-pointer and Aaron Adeoye got open for a two-handed dunk off a Marcus Wallace pass.
 
Moments after Anthony Elechi tipped in a missed layup by Karam Mashour to tie the game at 23-23 with 7:53 left, the Eagles went on a 9-2 run to build a seven-point cushion.
 
Miguel Dicent followed with a three-pointer, Warner hit a pair of free throws and Mashour scored a layup to give MSU a 32-25 advantage at the 5:21 mark.
 
Southeast answered with a 10-3 run in the final minutes, bringing the game to a 35-35 deadlock at the half.
 
Five of the Redhawks points during that surge came at three free throw line before Calvin knocked in a three off the bench and Wallace made a layup with four seconds on the clock.
 
Bradley finished his two-year Southeast career by shooting 6-of-15 from the field and a near-perfect 11-of-12 at the free throw line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and an assist in 28 minutes. Bradley thanked his coach for the chance to play at Southeast.
 
"I want to thank Coach Nutt for giving me the opportunity to play here," said an emotional Bradley. "It was a great experience."
 
Bradley goes out with a total of 1,029 points, 345 rebounds and 49 double-digit scoring performances in 58 games and 43 starts as a Redhawk.
 
Cleveland followed with 14 points, while Jones added 13 and Calvin contributed 11.
 
Southeast won the battle on the boards, outrebounding MSU, 36-31. The Eagles had been outrebounded only once in their previous 17 games.
 
Additionally, the Redhawks made 27-of-35 free throws for 77.1 percent.
 
Billy Reader led all MSU scorers with a double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds. Warner, Corban Collins (12) and Mashour (12) scored double-digits, as well.
 
Southeast narrowly missed getting a win at the OVC Tournament for the first time with Nutt as its coach. The Redhawks advanced to the quarterfinals in four-straight seasons prior to tonight. This year was Southeast's 14^th OVC Tournament appearance all-time.