COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A 21-point second quarter allowed Tennessee Tech (3-5, 3-3) to hang on for a 21-20 victory over Southeast Missouri (2-5, 2-2) Saturday afternoon in a slugfest at Tucker Stadium.

SEMO's defense shutout TTU for three quarters and limited the Golden Eagles to only 74 rushing yards in a stout performance. However, two missed field goals and an interception that was returned for a touchdown hurt the Redhawks in the end.

"It was a heckuva football game," said SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz. "It was up and down and I felt like we played well. It came down to turnover margin and they won the critical situations."

Ryan McCrum kicked a 30-yard field goal to pull SEMO within one at the 5:48 mark in the fourth quarter and that marked the final points as both teams went scoreless for the final 20:48 of the game.

SEMO managed to get into TTU territory twice in the fourth quarter and was at the Golden Eagles 13-yard line when McCrum's 30-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. The Redhawks later moved the ball to TTU's 41-yard line, but was forced to punt.

It appeared as though the Redhawks might get the ball back once more after Alex Knight's 40-yard punt was downed at the 1-yard line. But, TTU used two big third down conversions to put the game away.

Michael Birdsong completed a 22-yard pass to Dontez Byrd and Yeedee Thaenrat ran for 18 yards on third-and-4 in both instances. After Thaenrat's run, the Golden Eagles ran out what was left on the clock.

SEMO scored a touchdown on the opening drive of a game for the second time this season when it marched 70 yards on nine plays.
 
Jesse Hosket completed a 44-yard pass to Kristian Wilkerson to get the Redhawks a first down at the TTU 12-yard line before Will Young later capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Young's third touchdown of the season gave SEMO an early 7-0 lead with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Chad Meredith and Kendall Donnerson each recorded a sack to help stop TTU on its first possession and the Redhawks took over on downs with excellent field position after Tremane McCullough returned a punt 34 yards to the TTU-40. Four plays later, McCrum kicked a season-long 51-yard field goal to push the Redhawks lead to 10-0 with 5:38 left to play.
 
TTU chewed up 7:33 en route to putting its first points on the board during a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Aided by a 15-yard face mask penalty, the Golden Eagles moved to SEMO's 17-yard line. Thaenrat ended the drive with a 2-yard run to close the Redhawks lead to 10-7 at the 13:05 mark of the second quarter.
 
Seventeen seconds later, TTU took its first lead when Normand Elliott picked off Hosket and dashed 25 yards to the end zone. Elliott's pick-six put the Golden Eagles ahead, 14-10, with 12:48 to play.
 
Both teams traded scores in the final six minutes of the first half with TTU grabbing a 21-17 advantage at the intermission.
 
Hosket connected with Wilkerson on a 47-yard touchdown pass to cap a 5-play, 69-yard drive in 2:11. Wilkerson's reception, SEMO's second-longest of the season, gave SEMO a 17-14 edge with just under six minutes to go.
 
TTU responded when Michael Birdsong threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dontez Byrd just inside the near sideline. That play polished off a 7-play, 77-yard possession as the Golden Eagles went up by four.
 
A 30-yard field goal by McCrum accounted for the only scoring in the third quarter, narrowing TTU's lead to 21-20 with 5:48 on the clock. SEMO covered 55 yards in 15 plays prior to McCrum's kick.
 
Offensively, SEMO had its best rushing output of the season picking up 182 yards on 41 carries. Will Young paved the way with a game-high 102 yards and a TD for his team-best third 100-yard game this season. Wilkerson added four catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, getting 100 receiving yards in a game for the first time in his career. Hosket completed 15-of-27 passes for 197 yards as the Redhawks outgained the Golden Eagles, 379-244, and went 3-of-4 on fourth down.

Birdsong threw for 170 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-23 passes and Byrd had 97 yards and a score on eight catches to lead TTU.

Defensively, Meredith led the Redhawks with eight tackles and two sacks. He moved to 12th all-time in career sacks at SEMO.

Josh Poplar (16), Clay Davis (15) and Deontay Wilson (10) each registered double-digit tackles for the Golden Eagles.

Saturday's game marked the 11th time in 14 matchups where a game between SEMO and TTU was decided by seven or less points.

SEMO returns to Cape Girardeau for a two-game homestand beginning with Austin Peay on Oct. 29. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT, at Houck Stadium.