CARBONDALE, Ill. – Denzel Mahoney scored a game-high 18 points and knocked down three 3-pointers to lead Southeast Missouri (6-4) to a big 75-69 road win over rival Southern Illinois (4-4) Saturday night at SIU Arena.
 
Mahoney, one of four starters in double figures, led SEMO to its first win in Carbondale during its NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks also picked up their fourth win in a row matching their longest winning streak under head coach Rick Ray.
 
"This was a great win on the road against a quality team," said Ray. "We needed to have a great effort and did that without our two starting centers. I'm really proud of the way we went out and executed."
 
As Ray mentioned, the Redhawks were without both Justin Carpenter and Mark Laros. Carpenter, who started each of the last four games, was sidelined with a concussion he sustained during Friday's practice. Laros missed his third-straight game with mononucleosis.
 
SEMO dominated the first half on both ends of the court.
 
The Redhawks forced 11 turnovers and heated up to shoot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range in the game's opening 20 minutes.
 
Ahead, 14-11, with 12:14 left to play, SEMO used an 8-0 run to extend its lead to double figures. Ledarrius Brewer buried a 3-pointer, then got a steal which led to a Daniel Simmons layup. Isaiah Gable followed with a trey pushing the Redhawks lead to 22-11at the 9:43 mark.
 
SEMO then strung together a 15-4 surge to widen its lead to 37-15. Mahoney keyed the run with eight of his 14 first-half points as the Redhawks headed into the locker room with a 39-25 lead.
 
The Redhawks drained 6-of-12 three-pointers to SIU's cold 2-of-13. The Salukis missed 11 of their first 12 threes of the game.
 
SIU outscored SEMO, 44-36, in the second half and turned things around from long range where it made 9-of-15 threes for 60 percent.
 
Armon Fletcher's dunk cut the Redhawks lead to 59-54 with 5:52 remaining, but Mahoney answered with a huge 3-pointer on SEMO's next possession. Simmons then nailed a three of his own to grab SEMO an 11-point advantage at the 3:53 mark.
 
The Redhawks then withstood a late 14-4 run in the final minutes en route to pinning down their first win at SIU Arena since Dec. 4, 1982.
 
Mahoney shot 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
 
Milos Vranes followed with 14 points and six rebounds. Vranes made 4-of-7 field goals and 2-of-3 from downtown.
 
Brewer added 13 points, while Simmons pitched in 12 and grabbed six boards.
 
Dondre Duffus also had eight points, five rebounds and three steals in 17 minutes off the bench.
 
Defensively, the Redhawks held SIU's top scorer, Kavion Pippen, to just six points. Pippen played only 18 minutes and did not score in the entire second half.
 
Aaron Cook led the Salukis with 18 points.
 
SEMO breaks for final exams before returning to action at Big 12 Conference member Kansas State on Dec. 16.