MURRAY, Ky. – Justice Hill scored 26 points and KJ Williams added a double-double 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Murray State (11-2, 1-0) to a 106-81 win over Southeast Missouri (5-9, 0-1) Thursday night in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.

MSU scored over 100 points in a game for the third time and pushed its home record to 7-0 this season.

The Racers, who led the entire game, rallied behind Hill's hot hand to seize the momentum early.

Hill nailed his first four 3-pointers of the game and scored 12 points in the opening 4:34 of play to help the Racers grab a 15-6 advantage.

After Eric Reed, Jr. drove the lane for a layup, Phillip Russell buried a 3-pointer to get SEMO within four (15-11) with 14:49 remaining in the first half.

The Redhawks twice cut MSU's lead to six on a 3-pointer by Chris Harris (30-24) and layup by Sam Thompson (32-26) before the Racers widened their lead to double-digits on a 3-pointer by Tevin Brown that made it a 37-26 ballgame at the 8:37 mark.

MSU then used a 7-0 run in a quick 53 seconds to run its lead to 19 as the Racers headed into the locker room up, 59-40. 

In the first half, the Racers shot 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the field as Hill led all scorers with 22 points. Hill missed just two times from beyond the arc where he connected on 6-of-8 attempts.

MSU picked up where it left off in the second half going on an 11-0 run to take a 74-45 lead. SEMO didn't cut the Racers lead to under 20 points the rest of the way.

The Racers finished shooting 56.3 percent (36-of-64) from the floor and knocked down 47.8 of their threes (11-of-23). 

Hill, who scored just two points in the final 20 minutes, went 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point range. 

Williams pitched in 14 of his points in the second half and hit 8-of-14 of his field goals.

Meanwhile, Tevin Brown and Trae Hannibal scored 17 and 15 points, respectively.

MSU outrebounded SEMO, 30-21, and scored 46 of its points in the paint.

Reed, Jr. led SEMO with 20 points on 8-of-14 field goals and 4-of-9 three-pointers. It was Reed, Jr.'s team-high fourth 20-point game this season.

Russell and Harris contributed 15 points apiece. Harris, too, buried four 3-pointers, while Russell went a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line.

SEMO wrapped up a season-long five-game road trip with its fifth-straight loss.

The Redhawks return home to host Austin Peay on New Year's Day Saturday. Tip is set for 4 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.