NASHVILLE – Marqueas Bell had a double-double 22 points and 12 rebounds and Southeast Missouri (6-7, 1-1) shot a season-high 57.7 percent from the field to overpower Tennessee State (7-5, 1-1), 91-82, Saturday at the Gentry Center.
 
SEMO picked up its first Ohio Valley Conference win and beat TSU for the eighth time in the last 10 meetings between the teams.
 
The Redhawks sent the Tigers in a big hole early and never let up.
 
Luke Almodovar came off the bench and gave the Redhawks an immediate jolt scoring 11 points in four minutes. Almodovar's third 3-pointer during that stretch gave SEMO a 14-7 advantage with 14:15 remaining in the first half.
 
Bell's driving layup grabbed SEMO its first double-digit lead at 27-16. Almodovar then finished off a 13-0 run with a layup following a Landren Blocker block to put the Redhawks ahead, 31-16.
 
TSU dropped the margin to single digits with a 13-2 run and trailed 44-37 at halftime.
 
SEMO continued to have its way with the Tigers in the second half scoring six-straight points to quicky regain its double-digit lead.
 
The Redhawks made eight of their first 11 field goals and drew seven fouls to get in the bonus for the final 12:59 of the contest.
 
Blocker rebounded an Almodovar miss and threw down a highlight-reel one-handed dunk to extend SEMO's lead to 67-50 with a little over 12 minutes left.
 
Elliot Lowndes buried a 3-pointer to give the Redhawks their biggest lead at 76-57 at the 9:35 mark.
 
SEMO led by double figures until TSU scored on its final possession of the game.
 
Bell turned in his team-high third double-double of the season reaching new career-highs in both points and rebounds. He scored 13 of his points in the second half.
 
Almodovar followed with 19 points, BJ Ward added 14 and Braxton Stacker chipped in 11.
 
SEMO was involved in another foul heavy game that resulted in 46 fouls and 65 free throw attempts between the teams. The Redhawks made 22-of-29 at the free throw line, while the Tigers finished 26-of-36.
 
The Redhawks outrebounded TSU by a +11 margin (39-28) for the game and made 60 percent (15-of-25) of its field goals in the second half.
 
SEMO's 91 points marked a season-high, as well.
 
Brad Korn earned his 80th win tying Dickey Nutt (2009-15) for the second-most victories among head coached during SEMO's NCAA Division I era. Korn also improved to 9-3 all-time against TSU. Those nine victories are Korn's most against any OVC opponent.
 
The Redhawks break for the holidays before hosting Eastern Illinois on Jan. 1.