FORT WAYNE, Ind. – TJ Biel scored a season-high 23 points and Rob Martin added a season-best 22 as Southeast Missouri (3-7) played tough in an 89-80 loss to Horizon League leader Purdue Fort Wayne (10-1) Saturday.
 
Biel went over 20 points for the first time in his career and scored double figures off the bench for the second time in three games. Meanwhile, Martin increased his season scoring average to 10.5 points per game with his fourth double-digit performance in five starts.
 
SEMO shot over 50 percent (51.7) from the field in the opening stanza for the second-straight contest and led for most of the game's first 20 minutes.
 
The Redhawks grabbed an early eight-point advantage with a strong start out of the gate. SEMO went on an 11-1 run with Adam Larson and Evan Eursher each burying a 3-pointer along the way. Eursher's pull up three put SEMO ahead, 14-6, a little over five minutes in.
 
SEMO made eight of its first 10 field goals in the opening 8:09 and later used a 7-0 surge to take its largest lead of the half. Biel, who scored his first 10 points in the first half, drove in for a layup expanding the Redhawks lead to 33-24 with 5:57 to go.
 
PFW countered with a 17-6 run and pulled ahead by two at the intermission. Rasheed Batello scored a layup with two seconds on the clock putting the Mastodons ahead, 41-39. It was PFW's first lead since the 17:37 mark.
 
After Martin's 3-pointer regained a 49-46 edge for SEMO with 17:43 remaining in the second half, PFW put together a 12-0 run to get a nine-point lead while the Redhawks were scoreless for 4:40 span.
 
Quinton Morton-Robertson made a 3-pointer to tie the game and Eric Mulder got free for an open dunk to start things off. Morton-Robertson added three more free throws before Bello's pair of free throws made it a 58-49 game with 13:16 left to play.
 
Another dunk by Mulder off an assist from Morton-Robertson pushed the Mastodons lead to double figures (62-51) with a little over 12 minutes.
 
SEMO capitalized on back-to-back stops with driving layups by Eursher and Martin to cut PFW's lead to 69-62 with 6:46 remaining.
 
The Redhawks got within seven twice more in the final 1:10, but that was as close as they could get.
 
Biel shot 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free throw line. He also led SEMO with nine rebounds in a season-high 28 minutes. 
 
Martin, now averaging double figures for the first time this season, made 8-of-12 field goals, knocked down two 3-pointers and hit a perfect 4-of-4 free throws. He dished out five assists and tied his season-high of 34 minutes.
 
Aquan Smart followed with 12 points in his fourth-straight double-digit outing. Smart, too, finished with five assists.
 
SEMO shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) for the game and shot just 18 free throws, 23 fewer than PFW's 41. The Mastodons outscored the Redhawks by a +12 margin (26-14) at the free throw line.
 
All five of PFW's starters scored double figures with Bello's 19 points leading the way.
 
SEMO breaks for final exams before hosting Lindsey Wilson College on Dec. 17.