EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIU Edwardsville (15-12, 8-6) went on a 10-0 run in the final three minutes to hold off Southeast Missouri (8-19, 3-11) for an 80-76 victory Saturday at First Community Arena.
 
SIUE trailed by 15 points in the first half before coming from behind to tie the game at the intermission.
 
Down, 76-70, after Rob Martin made two free throws with 3:07 remaining, the Cougars scored the final 10 points of the game to get the win.
 
Shamar Wright gave the game a 76-76 tie with just over a minute to go. On SIUE's ensuing possession, Damarco Minor made a layup to give the Cougars a two-point edge.
 
Following an offensive foul by SEMO, Minor was then fouled and made two free throws with two seconds on the clock to finish off the Redhawks.
 
SEMO led by as many as nine in the second half when freshman Marqueas Bell made two free throws to put the Redhawks ahead, 50-41, at the 14:25 mark.
 
The Redhawks came out on fire in the first half at one time shooting 68 percent with makes on 14 of their first 21 field goals.
 
SEMO used a 10-0 run to get a 26-12 lead and went up by 15 (32-17) on Martin's jumper with 6:48 remaining.
 
SIUE, which missed 10-straight shots en route to falling behind, regrouped to outscore SEMO, 22-7, in the final last seven minutes. 
 
Shamar Wright's jumper got the Cougars within two before Brian Taylor made the game-tying basket to bring the score to a 39-39 deadlock at the break
 
The Redhawks had eight different players score in their nice first half. Evan Eursher buried two 3-pointers and Martin came off the bench to score eight points. Earley and Braxton Stacker also added six points apiece to help lead SEMO in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Additionally, SEMO controlled the paint with a +10 (22-12) advantage and got a nice 21-point boost from its bench during the first half. 
 
Minor and Ray'Sean Taylor led SIUE with 26 and 20 points, respectively. The Cougars outscored the Redhawks, 12-5, at the free throw line in the second half even though SEMO didn't miss from the charity stripe (7-of-7, including 5-of-5 in the second half) all afternoon.
 
Bell, in his first career start, finished with a season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 field goals, two 3-pointers and 3-of-3 free throws. He added three rebounds, four assists and three steals, as well. Bell's strong effort came two days after he scored 17 off the bench at Eastern Illinois.
 
Earley followed with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Martin chipped in 13 points and a season-high nine assists.
 
SEMO returns home to host Little Rock on Feb. 22.