CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. –  Eastern Illinois rallied from 22 points down to cut the lead to four points in the final 90 seconds of action but could not pull off the comeback losing 63-56 at Southeast Missouri.
EIU fell to 4-18 overall, 2-7 in the OVC. SEMO improved to 10-13 overall, 5-5 in the OVC.
The Redhawks opened the contest with their first six baskets coming from 3-point range as they built an early 19-7 lead. EIU's first points in the contest came at the foul line with
Paul Bizimana sinking a pair of free throws at the 15:10 mark, EIU trailing 12-2 at the time. Bizimana led EIU with 12 points.
SEMO led 34-15 at the half converting 13 first half EIU turnovers into 22 points. SEMO was 7-of-18 on 3-pointers in the first half and finished the game 11-of-32 from 3-point range. EIU had 21 total turnovers in the contest leading to 29 total Redhawks points.
Phillip Russell's basket with 16:03 left in the game gave the Redhawks their biggest lead at 40-18.
The Panthers cut the Redhawks lead to ten points on free throws by
CJ Lane with 9:35 left in the game.Â
Kejuan Clements 3-pointer with 8:43 cut the SEMO lead to single digits for the first time since the 15:33 mark of the first half.
Eric Reed Jr. answered the Clements basket for SEMO, one of several big baskets the Redhawks guard had in the contest. Reed led all scorers with 21 points.
In the final two minutes Bizimana hit back-to-back 3-pointers to bring EIU to within four points at 59-55 with 1:05 left in the game. Manny Patterson answered both of Bizimana's baskets with lay-ups for SEMO to help the Redhawks hang on for the win.Â
Lane joined Bizimana in double figures for the Panthers with 11 points.Â
Dan Luers had seven rebounds to lead EIU as the Panthers won the battle on the glass with a 32-26 edge.Â
EIU will play at Tennessee Tech on Monday at 6 p.m. in a game rescheduled from earlier this season.Â