SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (4-7) made a ferocious run late, but came up short in a 71-66 loss to Missouri State (7-3) Saturday night at JQH Arena.

In-state foes SEMO and MSU hooked up for the second time in 10 days and it was a tale of two halves for the Redhawks in this one.

The Redhawks trailed by as many as 20 points before using a 12-0 run to narrow MSU's lead to 65-63. Antonius Cleveland scored eight-straight points to ignite the surge that ended on Denzel Mahoney's two free throws with 2:10 remaining.
 
"I'm really proud of the way our team battled back," said SEMO head coach Rick Ray. "We have to understand that we can't put ourselves in these situations. We need to get off to a better start to give ourselves a better chance to win."
 
SEMO had a chance to tie the game when William Tcheingang rebounded Dequon Miller's missed jumper. However, Cleveland was called for an offensive foul and exited the game with 1:08 left.
 
Ryan Kreklow split two free throws to give the Bears a 66-63 edge shortly after Cleveland fouled out.
 
Daniel Simmons then missed a jumper on the Redhawks next possession. Ronnie Rousseau III rebounded the ball and Miller buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to widen MSU's lead to six with 34 seconds on the clock.
 
The Bears made three more free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
 
SEMO missed 23 field goals and shot just 28.1 percent in a cold first half that hurt in the end.
 
The Redhawks scored their first two baskets of the game to pull ahead, 4-0, and that was their only lead of the night.
 
Meanwhile, MSU received a big lift from its bench, which accounted for 31 points. Kreklow (11) and Chris Kendrix (10) combined for 21. Kreklow nailed his first 3-pointers to key a 16-2 run that gave the Bears a 30-14 advantage.
 
MSU led by 16 twice more before heading into the locker room with a 38-23 advantage. SEMO fell behind at the half for the sixth-straight game and ninth time in 11 contests this season.
 
Cleveland netted a season-high 23 points. He shot 9-of-17 from the field, drained two 3-pointers and made 3-of-3 free throws. Cleveland also grabbed six rebounds in 38 minutes.
 
Mahoney followed with 18 points, including 15 in the second half. He did not miss at the free throw line going 5-of-5.
 
Tchiengang contributed six rebounds and four points in 19 minutes. He made his first career start in place of Trey Kellum, who did not play due to a knee injury he sustained in practice this week.

"William gave us tremendous energy and did a great job," commented Ray.

Kreklow led MSU with 17 points and went 4-of-6 from downtown. Rousseau and Kendrix also scored double-digits with 15 and 12, respectively. Alize Johnson had a game-high 11 rebounds, but did not score a point in 23 minutes.
 
SEMO outscored MSU, 43-33, in the second half. The Redhawks forced 22 turnovers and collected 14 steals. It was the second-straight game and third time this season where SEMO forced 20 or more turnovers.
 
Additionally, the Redhawks made 10-of-10 free throws in the second stanza.
 
SEMO, which has dropped four in a row and five of its last six, heads to DePaul Monday.