MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Southeast Missouri (5-2) put together a ferocious comeback in the final four-and-a-half minutes but came up short in a close 73-71 loss to UC Davis (5-2) Sunday afternoon at the Cream City Classic.
 
Down, 64-54, with 4:25 to go, SEMO pulled to within a point (71-70) on a pair of free throws by Chris Harris with four seconds remaining.
 
UC Davis stretched its lead to 73-70 on two free throws by Elijah Pepper before Harris was fouled from behind the 3-point arc with one second on the clock.
 
Harris, needing to make all three free throws to tie the game, made one of his three attempts and the Aggies escaped.
 
The Redhawks had several chances down the stretch and just couldn't get ahead.
 
SEMO had an opportunity to take the lead when Phillip Russell's layup was blocked by Pepper who was fouled and split two free throws to keep the Aggies on top, 70-68.
 
Harris' jumper to tie the game was then blocked and Ade Adebayo made one of his two free throws as the tight matchup stayed a one-possession game at 71-68.
 
UC Davis held off SEMO which was within four or less points for the final 1:25 of the contest.
 
SEMO wiped out a double-digit deficit in the last 6:28 of the first half.
 
Trailing, 27-16, Harris knocked down a 3-pointer to spark an 11-0 run. Dylan Branson then followed with eight-straight points and tied the game on a layup at the 3:31 mark.
 
Branson hit a jumper to give the Redhawks a slight 31-30 edge before the teams headed into the locker room deadlocked at 32-32.
 
SEMO pressured UC Davis into committing 13 turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes as Branson swung the momentum in the Redhawks direction with 12 first-half points.
 
UC Davis quickly regained the lead with an 11-4 surge during the first five minutes of the second half and did not fall behind the rest of the way.
 
Wisconsin native Adam Larson drained back-to-back three-pointers to get SEMO within two (47-45) with 12:25 to go, but the Aggies responded by scoring the next 11 points to take a 58-45 advantage. 
 
The Aggies led by double figures for a period of 2:05 before the Redhawks made their strong push down the stretch.
 
Russell and Harris lead SEMO with 16 points each, while Branson followed with 12 and Larson pitched in 11. Branson finished with eight rebounds, as well.
 
The Redhawks scored 21 points off 23 UC Davis turnovers and shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field. SEMO made 11-of-13 free throws in the second half with its only two misses coming in the final second.
 
UC Davis shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) in the second stanza and missed 13 free throws, including eight in the final 20 minutes. The Aggies shot just 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from the charity stripe.
 
Pepper led all scorers with 30 points on 10-of-20 field goals, 4-of-8 three-pointers and 6-of-7 free throws. 
 
SEMO wraps up tournament play against host Milwaukee Monday night.