COLUMBIA, Mo. – Braxton Stacker scored a career-high 26 points and Luke Almodovar added 24 as Southeast Missouri (0-2) gave Missouri (2-0) a scare in a close 89-84 loss Friday night.
 
MU, which missed 12 free throws, made six free throws in the final 47 seconds to fend off the Redhawks.
 
SEMO went scoreless for the game's opening 5:06 and fell behind, 12-0.
 
Once the Redhawks settled in, they used a gutsy effort that gave the Tigers fits the rest of the way.
 
BJ Ward's jumper ended the early drought with 14:54 remaining in the first half. 
 
After that, SEMO did a nice job of making extra passes to create scoring opportunities that enabled itself to build a halftime advantage.
 
Down, 34-27, SEMO tied things up with a 7-0 run.
 
Marqueas Bell made two free throws and Landren Blocker scored on a tip-in before Stacker was fouled and made a free throw to complete a 3-point play bringing the game to a 34-34 deadlock with 6:25 left.
 
Stacker followed that up with two more free throws to give SEMO its first lead of the night. Bell later made a layup to put the Redhawks up, 42-37, at the 2:54 mark.
 
Another two free throws by Stacker gave SEMO a second five-point cushion and Blocker's 3-pointer with three seconds on the clock sent the Redhawks into the intermission with a 51-46 lead.
 
The Redhawks shot a scorching 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the field behind Stacker and Almodovar's big offensive surge. Stacker led the way with 17 points and Almodovar followed with 12 first-half points. Bell, too, reached double figures with 10 points off the bench.
 
Troy Cole, Jr. made two free throws to grab SEMO its largest lead of the night at 55-46 with 18:55 left to play in the second half.
 
MU pieced together a 12-0 run to regain the lead midway through the second stanza.
 
Mark Mitchell's jumper on a fast break gave the Tigers a 59-58 edge.
 
Jevon Porter then knocked down a free throw to finish off the run putting MU up, 62-58, at the 12:23 mark.
 
Almodovar and Stacker each buried a 3-pointer to give SEMO a two-point lead before Stacker's jumper put the Redhawks ahead (75-74) for the last time with 4:45 on the clock.
 
Tied, 76-76, with 3:45 to go, MU scored 13 of the final 21 points to pull away.
 
Stacker shot 8-of-14 from the field, made three 3-pointers and went a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals.
 
Almodovar made 9-of-20 field goals with five of his makes beyond the arc. He had four rebounds, three steals and two assists, as well.
 
Bell chipped in 13 points for his second-straight double-digit performance.
 
SEMO outrebounded MU, 33-30, and had 13 offensive boards. Defensively, the Redhawks forced 19 turnovers and finished with 11 steals.
 
Mitchell led all scorers with a game-high 29 points. The Tigers shot 59.3 percent (32-of-54) from the field for the night.
 
SEMO will host Webster University in its home-opener on Nov. 12.