CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southern Illinois (1-0) scored 28 points at the free throw line and sunk nine in overtime to escape with an 87-79 win over Southeast Missouri (1-1) Wednesday night at the Show Me Center.

SEMO led, 65-54, with a little over six minutes remaining in regulation when SIU went on a 15-4 run to tie the game at 69-69. Dalton Banks converted a conventional 3-point play and Anthony D'Avanzo made a free throw to knot things up with 20 seconds left.

Chris Harris drove the lane and banked in a layup to regain a 71-69 edge for the Redhawks 12 seconds later.

DQ Nicholas was then whistled for a foul when contact was made near halfcourt on SIU's inbounds pass. D'Avanzo headed to the free throw line again, this time making two shots to bring the game to a 71-71 deadlock with four seconds on the clock.

SEMO had a chance to win it, but Harris' 3-point attempt came off the front of the rim and both teams headed to overtime.

The Salukis scored the first seven points of the extra period to quickly build a 78-71 lead and SEMO couldn't recover.

Ben Harvey sunk a pair of free throws, Trent Brown buried a 3-pointer and Marcus Domask added a layup during that stretch over the first 2:29 of overtime.

SIU made a near-perfect 9-of-10 free throws to close out the game.

Eric Reed, Jr. was spectacular in the second half, scoring 13 of his team-high 17 points. Reed, Jr. drained three 3-pointers. At one time, Reed, Jr. scored eight-straight points to put SEMO ahead, 52-46, with 10:56 left to play in regulation.

Big-bodied forward Nolan Taylor gave the Redhawks a big boost in a first half that saw the Redhawks lead for all but 19 seconds.
 
Ahead, 10-9, with 14:43 remaining, SEMO went on a 13-3 run to build a double-digit lead. Taylor scored five points to key the surge that ended with a Nate Johnson basket that stretched SEMO's lead to 23-12 at the 8:07 mark.

Moments after Reed, Jr.'s layup gave SEMO its second 11-point lead, the Salukis answered with a 9-0 run to slice the Redhawks lead to 25-23. Banks' layup finished off that run with 4:23 on the clock. 

SEMO would go on to lead, 31-29, at the half.

For the second-straight game, SEMO had four players with double figures in the scoring column.

Reed, Jr. shot 6-of-12 from the field and dished out a game-high five assists to pave the way. Harris followed close behind with 15 points, while Taylor chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Love contributed 10 points, scoring double-digits for just the third time in his career.

Nygal Russell pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to help lift SEMO to a 50-37 (+13) advantage on the boards. The Redhawks outrebounded the Salukis, 18-4, on the offensive glass. SEMO outscored SIU, 16-2, in second chance points and recorded seven blocks. 

The 118th meeting between longtime rivals SEMO and SIU featured six ties and nine lead changes.

Domask and Ben Harvey led SIU with 24 and 22 points, respectively. Domask (11) and Harvey (9) combined for 20 of the Salukis 28 made free throws.

SIU assistant coach Brendan Mullins was acting head coach for the Salukis victory tonight. Head coach Bryan Mullins could not make the trip after testing positive for COVID-19.

SEMO returns to action when it hosts Atlantic Sun Conference affiliate Lipscomb on Dec. 7. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., CT.