CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Adam Larson dropped in a career-high 22 points with a career-best six 3-pointers and Southeast Missouri (1-4) put together a strong second half in a 93-74 loss to Evansville (6-0) Saturday afternoon at the Coke Zero Sugar Classic.
 
SEMO, which met UE for the second time in 10 days, outscored the Purple Aces, 45-42, in the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Larson scored 11 points and made three 3-pointers in both halves en route to his team-high third double-digit game this season. Today marked his second-straight start after coming off the bench in each of SEMO's first three contests.
 
Down, 51-29, at halftime, the Redhawks were on fire to start the second half.
 
Rob Martin and Aquan Smart both buried a 3-pointer to jumpstart a 10-2 run and SEMO quickly got within 14 (53-39) when Martin scored again on a layup in just under two minutes.
 
The Redhawks made nine of their first 10 field goals, four of their first five 3-pointers and used a 20-8 surge to cut UE's lead to single digits (62-54). Smart's pullup jumper capped the run with 13:40 remaining.
 
UE, however, countered with a 9-0 run to take a 71-54 lead at the 11:34 mark and SEMO never got any closer than 12 after that. 
 
The Purple Aces outscored the Redhawks, 16-5, at the free throw line in the second half and that held up big in the end.
 
While it was SEMO that won the second half, it was UE who was hot in the first.
 
The Purple Aces moved up on the Redhawks, 10-2, in the first two minutes of play. Braxton Stacker made a driving layup, was fouled and completed a 3-point play to cut the Purple Aces early lead in half.
 
Later in the opening stanza, UE went on a 19-4 run in 6:12 and took a 47-21 advantage on Joshua Huges' layup with 2:16 left.
 
BJ Ward made two of three free throws to wrap up the first half for the Redhawks. UE shot over 61 percent (22-of-36) from the field and connected on 4-of-7 three-pointers to get its hefty halftime lead.
 
Larson hit 70 percent (7-of-10) of his field goals and fell three 3-pointers away from tying SEMO's all-time single-game record in 3-pointers made.
 
TJ Biel followed with 11 points for his first career double-digit game as a Redhawk.
 
Ben Humrichous and Hughes paced UE with 27 and 21 points, respectively. Kenny Strawbridge also added 17 points. The Purple Aces outscored SEMO, 60-24, inside the paint.
 
UE won the three-team Coke Zero Sugar Classic with a 2-0 record.
 
The Redhawks wrap up play in the multi-team event against tournament host Chattanooga Sunday. Tip is set for 1 p.m., CT at McKenzie Arena.