CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Western Illinois (15-8, 8-2) shot 53 percent and trailed only once in a 76-55 victory over Southeast Missouri (7-16, 2-8) Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
 
WIU trailed briefly on the opening basket of the game and took control the rest of the way.
 
Tied, 10-10, WIU went on a 10-3 run to build a seven-point advantage. Quinlan Bennett's driving layup capped that stretch giving the Leathernecks a 20-13 lead with 7:32 remaining in the first half.
 
After Josh Earley's pullup jumper got SEMO within three (22-19), WIU countered with a 7-0 surge to take its first double-digit lead. JJ Kalakon scored the last five points of that run and drained a 3-pointer to push the Leathernecks lead to 29-19 with 4:03 left.
 
Kalakon later grabbed WIU its biggest lead of the first half when he buried a 3-pointer to make it 34-22. SEMO then got within single digits on Evan Eursher's corner 3-pointer that brought the score to 37-28 at the half.
 
WIU shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the field in the first half.
 
The Leathernecks didn't cool off much in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
WIU made eight of its first 14 field goals and hit a perfect 4-of-4 free throws in the first 9:15 of the second half. Along the way, the Leathernecks put together a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 59-37 with 10:45 to go.
 
James Dent Jr.'s 3-pointer gave the Leathernecks their largest lead at 70-44 at the 6:38 mark before they finished off their 15^th win of the season.
 
WIU had six players with double figures in the scoring column led by Bennett and Kalakon who each pitched in 15 points. Ryan Myers, Jesiah West and Drew Cisse followed with 10 points apiece.
 
The Leathernecks outrebounded the Redhawks, 38-20, and shot 29-of-55 from the field for the game. WIU, which entered the game ranked 349^th out of 351 NCAA Division I teams in free throw shooting, made a perfect 10-of-10 in the second half and missed just twice (13-of-15) at the charity stripe all afternoon.
 
Freshmen BJ Ward and Marqueas Bell both scored a season-high 11 points for SEMO.
 
The Redhawks shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the field and were outscored, 40-18, in the paint.
 
SEMO remains home to host Tennessee Tech Feb. 8.