RUSTON, La. – Denzel Mahoney scored 25 points and freshman Ledarrius Brewer dropped in 20 as Southeast Missouri (1-1) took Louisiana Tech (2-0) to the wire in a thrilling 96-95 overtime loss Monday.
 
Freshman Justin Carpenter, who had a huge night for SEMO as well, made two free throws with 30 seconds and the Redhawks later got a big stop to send the game to overtime.
 
Louisiana Tech went on a 7-0 run, did not miss a field goal (5-of-5) and made 7-of-10 free throws to escape in the overtime period.
 
Jalen Harris, who led the Bulldogs with 26 points and eight rebounds, made six of his 11 free throws in the last 44 seconds of overtime. Harris finished 11-of-14 at the charity stripe for the game.
 
Ray Kowalski buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer before the Redhawks lost by a point.
 
SEMO never backed down against a strong Louisiana Tech club that won 23 games each of the last two seasons.
 
"We just kept coming and that's what I loved about our team tonight," said SEMO head coach Rick Ray. "A lot of guys stepped up and 49 of our points came from three freshmen."
 
Both teams went back-and-forth to 13 ties and 10 lead changes, and scored a combined 86 points in the paint. Eight different players scored double figures between the two teams, including four with 20 or more.
 
Carpenter gave SEMO a big lift in the first half coming off the bench to score 10 points, grab five rebounds and get a block in just 12 minutes.
 
The Redhawks trailed, 37-32, with less than two minutes remaining in the first half before going on a 7-2 run to tie the game. Mahoney drove hard to the basket for two and Brewer made two free throws before Kowalski drained a 3-pointer to make it 39-39 at the half.
 
SEMO and Louisiana Tech tied, 40-40, in the second half before heading into overtime all knotted up at 79.
 
Mahoney led the Redhawks scoring over 20 points for the second-straight game this season. He also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out three assists and had a steal in 36 minutes.
 
Brewer knocked down four 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds in his first 20-point game at SEMO.
 
"Ledarrius didn't take any bad shots and I'm proud of him," commented Ray. "I think the sky is the limit for him."
 
Carpenter followed with 17 points and six rebounds, while Kowalski added 12 points and Daniel Simmons chipped in 11. Jonathan Dalton contributed seven assists, matching a career-high.
 
"You saw what we have been talking about with Justin Carpenter," said Ray. "He is so skilled and nothing speeds him up. Justin is going to be a terrific basketball player."
 
As a team, the Redhawks had 20 assists on 36 made field goals.
 
Daquan Bracey followed Harris with 20 points and Derric Jean pitched in 14 for the Bulldogs. Louisiana Tech shot 28-of-34 free throws compared to SEMO's 14-of-19 and held a +14 advantage in free throws made.
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the field.
 
SEMO, which is in the middle of a four-game road stretch as part of the Cancun Challenge, heads to Missouri Valley Conference member Evansville Thursday.