Box Score

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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Southeast Missouri snapped the Eastern Illinois men's basketball team's three game Ohio Valley Conference winning streak on Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Panthers, 74-68, inside Lantz Arena. EIU dropped to 9-15 (6-6 OVC) on the year and SEMO improved to 13-12 (4-7 OVC).

The Redhawks had their largest lead of the game, 68-60, with 3:10 left in game before the Panthers went on a 7-1 run to get within two (69-67) with just under 40 seconds remaining in regulation. EIU missed its final five shot attempts and SEMO went 5-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch to hold off the Panther comeback.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead to start the game and led 15-10 at the 14:29 mark. SEMO would outscore the Panthers, 13-3, over the next six minutes to take its largest lead of the first half, 23-18. The Redhawks led 34-33 at intermission.

Sherman Blanford paced the EIU offense with 20 points, his third straight game with 20 or more points. Reggie Smith added 13 points and a team-high five assists while Alex Austin chipped in 12 points.

Blanford led the Panthers on the glass with nine rebounds while Smith grabbed six rebounds. SEMO held a 35-32 advantage in rebounding with Jarekious Bradley leading the Redhawks with a game-high 10 rebounds. Bradley also scored 13 points for his fifth double-double of the year.

Offensively, Darrian Gray led the Redhawks with 18 points while Tyler Stone added 16 points. Lucus Nutt scored seven points and dished out a game-high seven assists. The Redhawks hit 44.4 percent of their field goal attempts (24-for-54) and 42.3 percent of their three-point attempts (5-for-14). SEMO finished the contest going 21-for-27 from the foul line.

EIU finished the game going 22-for-54 from the floor and 7-for-20 from behind the arc. The Panthers also went 17-for-24 from the charity stripe.

The Panthers returns to action at Austin Peay on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.