CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Rob Martin, Braxton Stacker and BJ Ward each scored nine points as Southeast Missouri (0-3) dropped its home-opener to Evansville (3-0), 76-57, Wednesday night at the Show Me Center.
 
SEMO, which never led in the game, struggled to get anything going against UE.
 
The Redhawks pulled within four points (27-23) on a layup by Adam Larson with a little over six minutes left in the first half before UE used a 12-5 run to grab a 39-28 advantage at the intermission.
 
Ben Humrichous' 3-pointer gave the Purple Aces a spark and UE scored 10 of the next 13 points to build a 37-26 lead. Cameron Haffner buried a three to give the Purple Aces their first double-digit lead with 1:47 to go. Antonio Thomas' layup pushed UE's lead to 13 before BJ Ward scored the final points of the half on a jumper.
 
UE shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field and scored 17 of its points off 10 SEMO turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes.
 
The Purple Aces used an 8-0 run to widen their lead to 56-40 with 14:12 remaining and led by as many as 21 (76-55) when Haffner hit a 3-pointer at the 1:13 mark.
 
Martin added three assists and four rebounds and Ward finished with two steals, as well. Kobe Clark paced SEMO with five rebounds off the bench. The Redhawks edged the Purple Aces, 31-30, in rebounds.
 
Yacine Toumi pitched in a game-high 20 points, Ben Humrichous followed with 18 and Haffner contributed 10 points to lead UE. The Purple Aces outscored SEMO, 52-22, in the paint and scored 29 points off a season-high 18 SEMO turnovers.
 
The Redhawks remain home to host Central Arkansas in their final game before the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 20.