SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Chris Harris drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Southeast Missouri (3-2) to a thrilling 79-76 win over Incarnate Word (0-5) Friday afternoon at the Incarnate Word Thanksgiving Classic.
Tied, 76-76, Harris received a pass from Dylan Branson who inbounded the ball underneath his own basket. Harris launched a three from the left of the arc that went through the net for his only made 3-pointer of the game. Prior to his game-winner, Harris had missed his first four 3-point attempts of the contest.
The Redhawks took their largest lead of the game when Phillip Russell split two free throws to make it a 56-47 ballgame with 11:39 remaining.
However, UIW answered with a 17-8 run and tied things up, 64-64, on a jumper by Drew Lutz with 5:51 to go.
After Nate Johnson's layup put SEMO ahead by four, Eric Reed, Jr. later buried a 3-pointer to regain a three-point cushion for the Redhawks.
SEMO again led by three (75-72) following two made free throws by Harris at the 1:12 mark. Twenty-four seconds later, Russell split two free throws and the Redhawks led, 76-74.
RJ Glasper's jumper off a SEMO turnover brought the game to a 76-76 deadlock with 19 seconds on the clock.
Brandon Swaby rebounded a missed jumper by Russell, but lost the ball out of bounds. Swaby's turnover hurt the Cardinals in the end after Harris capitalized on the mishap.
SEMO, down 39-34 at halftime, trailed by 10 (44-34) with 17:55 left to play. The Redhawks won the second half, 45-37, to grab their second-straight victory.
Reed, Jr. finished with a season-high 23 points to pave the way for SEMO. He shot 9-of-15 from the field and buried 4-of-8 three-pointers en route to his second 20-point performance. Reed, Jr. also had two steals in 37 minutes.
Johnson and Harris followed with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Russell added 10. Johnson's 14 points marked a career-high.
As a team, the Redhawks shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the field to go along with a season-best 10 three-pointers. Seven of those treys came in the second half.
Glasper topped UIW with 19 points as one of four Cardinals with double-digits in the scoring column.
The Cardinals also made 22-of-26 free throws in a game that had six ties and nine lead changes.
SEMO resumes play at the UIW Thanksgiving Invitational vs. Portland Saturday. Tip is set for 2 p.m., CT.
