Redhawks end Tech's dominance at home

~ The Southeast men snapped the Eblen Center jinx with a 77-75 road win against Tennessee Tech

It had been more than 10 years spanning 12 losses since the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team last won a game in Cookeville, Tenn.

But the current Redhawks of second-year coach Dickey Nutt had been responsible for just one of those defeats.

And now the current Redhawks are responsible for ending that long road losing streak to Tennessee Tech.

The Redhawks stunned the Eagles 77-75 on Tuesday night, marking Southeast's first win at Tech's Eblen Center since the NCAA tournament season of 1999-2000.

"This was a fantastic win for us," Nutt said. "I can't say enough about the toughness of this basketball team. They just refused to lose, and our guys deserve a lot of credit."

Southeast, posting its third straight victory, is 3-10 overall and 2-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Tech fell to 4-6 and 2-1.

The Redhawks swept their two-game OVC road trip. They won at Jacksonville State on Sunday.

"To win on the road is special," Nutt said.

Sophomore guard Marland Smith led Southeast in scoring for the third straight game after starting the season slow. He had 23 points, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers.

"Marland really had a super night," Nutt said.

Senior guard Anthony Allison scored 19 points despite suffering a sprained ankle that required attention.

"Anthony showed a lot of toughness," Nutt said.

Junior forward Leon Powell had 13 points and eight rebounds while senior forward Cameron Butler added 10 points.

Southeast led much of the way, including by 14 points in the first half, before settling for a 40-36 halftime advantage.

The second half was tight, with several lead changes and ties.

Butler made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:30 left to break a deadlock and put Southeast up 71-70. The Redhawks never relinquished the lead.

After a Tech miss, Allison drove for a basket to make it 73-70.

Powell came up with a steal, which led to a pair of Smith free throws with 31 seconds left for a 75-70 margin.

A free throw by redshirt freshman point guard Lucas Nutt made it 76-73, then Butler had a huge block on what looked like a sure layup. Allison's free throw with 10 seconds left iced the victory and made Tech's basket at the buzzer moot.

"I'm so proud of this team," coach Nutt said. "They're just playing with that swagger."

The Redhawks return to action Dec. 29 at SMU of Conference USA in their final game before the new year.