Redhawks Come Up Short in 91-86 Loss to Eastern Kentucky

Saturday, January 13

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

4:15 PM

Southeast Missouri State University

8-11, 2-4OVC

Eastern Kentucky

8-11, 2-4OVC

Team	1	2	F
Eastern Kentucky	44	47	91
Southeast Missouri	36	50	86

Daniel Simmons scored a career-high 22 points against Eastern Kentucky

1/13/2018 7:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Final Statistics PDF

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri (8-11, 2-4) erased a 16-point deficit, but came up short in a 91-86 loss to Eastern Kentucky (8-11, 2-4) Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.

SEMO shot 50 percent from the field and scored over 80 points, but had some crucial turnovers toward the end.

"You can't lose a game like this when you shoot 50 percent and score over 80 points," said SEMO head coach Rick Ray. "We put ourselves in a hole early and had three turnovers in the last seven minutes. We gave them way too many opportunities at the rim."

EKU heated up to bury five of its first eight 3-point attempts to build a 25-12 advantage in the opening 9:10 of the game. JacQuess Hobbs knocked down a pair of treys and Jackson Davis later capped the run with his own trifecta.

After Jackson Davis' layup pushed EKU's lead to 31-16, SEMO answered with a 9-0 jaunt to pull within six. The Redhawks made three layups before Denzel Mahoney and Daniel Simmons each buried a three to make it a 34-28 game at the 4:37 mark.

Ledarrius Brewer's 3-pointer diced the Colonels lead to 36-31 with 2:47 left, but EKU headed into halftime with a 44-36 lead. The Colonels hit 8-of-15 three-pointers for 53.3 percent in the first half.

DuJuanta Weaver's 3-pointer gave EKU its biggest lead of the day at 55-39 with 16:46 remaining.

Then, down 67-57, with a little over 10 minutes to go, the Redhawks soared with a 13-2 run to take the lead. Mahoney converted a 3-point play and Simmons and Milos Vranes each followed with a layup. Mahoney also added two free throws and added a steal that led to Brewer's go-ahead 3-pointer that gave SEMO a 70-69 edge at the 7:25 mark.

SEMO and EKU went back-and-forth the rest of the way and the Colonels used a huge 3-pointer by Nick Mayo to regain a 79-78 lead with 2:14 left and never trailed again after that.

Brewer dropped in another 3-pointer to slice EKU's lead to 85-83 with 35 seconds, but a key four-point swing put the Colonels up six.

DeAndre Dishman scored a layup and was whistled for an offensive foul on EKU's next possession. However, after the officials reviewed the play, Mahoney was charged with the foul since he was in the restricted area underneath the basket. Dedric Boyd went to the line and made two free throws to give EKU an 89-83 lead before the Colonels polished off their win.

Davis led EKU with 18 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench, while Dishman followed with 17 points, Weaver scored 15 and Mayo finished with 11. The Colonels ended up with a season-high 12 three-pointers and 21-of-22 free throws.

Mahoney topped SEMO with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Simmons chipped in a career-high 22 points. Jonathan Dalton added 13 points and five assists, and Brewer scored 13.

The Redhawks shot 30-of-60 from the field and drained 11 three-pointers. SEMO also outrebounded EKU, 37-29, and won the second half by a score of 50-47.

SEMO closes out January with four-straight road games. The open that stretch at SIU Edwardsville on Jan. 18.