COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Josh Earley scored a career-high 20 points and Southeast Missouri (6-12, 1-4) dropped a 70-59 decision to Tennessee Tech (7-11, 2-3) Saturday afternoon at the Eblen Center.
 
Earley scored 12 of his points in the second half en route to his fourth-straight double-digit scoring performance.
 
SEMO and TTU started strong with neither missing a field goal in the opening 6:23 of play. The Rehawks made their first six shots and the Golden Eagles went 4-of-4 in that span.
 
Five ties and five lead changes later, Rob Martin broke a 14-14 deadlock by scoring seven-straight points to put SEMO ahead.
 
Rob Martin nailed a 3-pointer with one second on the shot clock, was fouled and completed a 4-point play. He followed that up with another three to extend SEMO's lead to 21-14 with 10:24 remaining in the first half.
 
Josiah Davis made a 3-pointer and Daniel Egbuniwe added a layup to regain a 37-33 edge for TTU with 1:50 left. Braxton Stacker then scored a layup to tie things up, 37-37, heading into the intermission.
 
In a half that had eight lead changes alone, SEMO made six 3-pointers, its second-most in an opening stanza this season. The Redhawks shot 58.3 percent from the floor and the Golden Eagles shot 60 percent in a hot shooting 20 minutes for both clubs.
 
Earley took over at the beginning of the second half scoring eight points in the first 4:32. His second chance layup finished off that stretch tying the game at 45-45 with 15:28 to go.
 
TTU countered with the next five points to go up 50-45 before TJ Biel rattled home a 3-pointer to make it a two-point contest with under 12 minutes remaining.
 
Dylan Branson made two free throws to narrow TTU's margin to 56-54, but the Golden Eagles answered with a 9-0 run to pull away.
 
Jayvis Harvey knocked down a 3-pointer, Davis added back-to-back baskets and Egbuniwe scored to put TTU ahead, 65-54, at the 5:32 mark. 
 
After Earley's basket ended a scoreless stretch of 5:26 for the Redhawks, Martin made a 3-pointer on SEMO's next possession to close the Golden Eagles lead to 65-59.
 
SEMO made only two field goals in the last eight minutes of the contest, while TTU hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 53 seconds.
 
TTU shot 56.1 percent (23-of-41) from the field and outscored SEMO, 16-5, at the free throw line. The Golden Eagles missed just three free throws along the way going 16-of-19.
 
SEMO, which outrebounded TTU, 32-22, shot just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) in the second half.
 
Earley was 10-of-14 from the floor and added five rebounds. Martin followed with 12 points and three assists, while Aquan Smart led the way with seven boards.
 
Both teams finished with eight 3-pointers apiece, as well.
 
SEMO hosts SIU Edwardsville on Jan. 20, its final home game this month.