CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference sophomore Denzel Mahoney scored a game-high 27 points and had seven rebounds to lead Southeast Missouri to a 94-75 exhibition win over Missouri S&T Wednesday night at the Show Me Center.
 
Mahoney shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from the field and scored 17 of his points in the first half alone.
 
SEMO trailed, 38-35, at halftime, but outscored the Miners, 59-37, the rest of the way.
 
"This was an opportunity for a lot of coachable moments," said SEMO head coach Rick Ray. "It was a good teaching point for our guys. I appreciated how we persevered."
 
Tied, 49-49, with 16:27 remaining, the Redhawks used a 13-3 run to build a 62-52 advantage. Dondre Duffus' layup capped the surge at the 11:45 mark.
 
After that, Missouri S&T didn't get within less than six points. SEMO strung together one last 14-2 jaunt in the final 3:46 to put its 19-point victory on ice. The Redhawks scored six points at the free throw line and got three layups from Mark Laros to key the run.
 
SEMO's big second half overshadowed a slow start in the game's opening stanza.
 
The Redhawks fell behind, 11-1, in the first three minutes after Missouri S&T buried three 3-pointers.
 
SEMO answered with a 20-10 run to tie the game at 21-21 on Daniel Simmons' layup with 9:29 to go. Mahoney's jumper gave the Redhawks their first lead 1:27 later.
 
The Miners scored five points in the last 1:14 and headed into the locker room with a 38-35 edge following Allante Pickens' 3-pointer as time expired.
 
Mahoney also knocked down 6-of-7 free throws, dished out one assist and collected two steals in 29 minutes. He led four Redhawks in double figures for the night.
 
Simmons followed with 15 points, while Laros added 14 points and nine rebounds. Ledarrius Brewer chipped in 12 points off the bench.
 
As a team, SEMO shot 50.7 percent (34-of-67) from the field and outrebounded Missouri S&T by a +12 margin (47-35). The Redhawks made 21-of-28 free throws and man-handled the Miners, 48-18, inside the paint.
 
Chris Harris and Pickens led Missouri S&T with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Ervin Sarajlic followed with 11 points and Dulan Scott finished with 10. The Miners drained 12 three-pointers with five coming from Pickens.
 
SEMO closes out exhibition play when it hosts Missouri Southern in a charity game on Nov. 4. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., CT. Tickets are a minimum $5 donation at the door with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief.