CHARLESTON, Ill. – Daniel Simmons scored a career-high 26 points and freshman Justin Carpenter pitched in a career-best 24 points to lead Southeast Missouri (10-11, 4-4) to an 86-74 victory over Eastern Illinois (7-12, 2-5) Saturday.

SEMO, which picked up its 10th win of the season, swept the SIU Edwardsville and EIU road trip for the first time since 2012. The Redhawks also left Charleston with a win for the first time in three years.

The Redhawks trailed, 43-36, at halftime, but used a huge second half to bury the Panthers. SEMO erased an 11-point deficit on multiple occasions and led for the final 14 minutes of the game.

SEMO opened the second stanza with an 11-2 run and tied the game at 47-47 on a 3-pointer by Simmons with 17:29 left to play. Simmons was a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range and scored 18 of his points in the second half.

Jajuan Starks' layup regained a 55-54 edge for EIU with just under 14 minutes and that was the last time the Panthers led.

SEMO closed out its second-straight win by making 18-consecutive free throws, including 12 in the last 2:12.  

The Redhawks regrouped after EIU put together its second-highest scoring first half of the season.

SEMO trailed by one following a layup by Carpenter, but the Panthers used a 10-0 run to take a 23-12 advantage with 11:28 remaining in the first half. A pair of layups by Starks and a 3-pointer each from Ray Crossland and Mack Smith led the charge.

Clinging to a 28-27 lead, EIU went on a 9-2 run to go up eight before heading into the locker room with a 43-36 advantage. 

Simmons shot a near-perfect 8-of-9 from the field with five of his makes from long range. He also grabbed five rebounds, made 5-of-6 free throws and dished out five assists in 27 minutes off the bench.

Carpenter hit 10-of-16 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws to go along with four rebounds in 30 minutes.

Ledarrius Brewer and Jonathan Dalton chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.

As a team, SEMO shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) and matched a season-high 12 three-pointers for the game. The Redhawks buried 20-of-22 free throws and had 20 assists on their 27 made field goals.

All five starters scored double figures for EIU. Starks and Smith paved the way with 17 apiece, while Muusa Dama turned in a double-double 16 points and 12 rebounds.

SEMO outscored the Panthers by a +19 margin (50-31) in the second half.

The Redhawks travel to Tennessee Tech on Jan. 25.