Redhawks falls on road to Eastern Kentucky

A hot-shooting Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team put an emphatic end to Southeast Missouri State's road magic.

The Colonels blistered the nets for 57.1 percent from the field Thursday night and used a big second half to rout the Redhawks 77-64 in Richmond, Ky.

EKU notched its seventh straight win against Southeast.

Southeast had won its previous two games, both on the road, and had been among just five Ohio Valley Conference squads to have a winning road record during league play.

The Redhawks fell to 7-18 overall and 5-9 in OVC play. They remained seventh in the 10-team conference with four league games left. The top eight finishers qualify for the conference tournament.

Southeast Missouri State's Leon Powell posts up against Eastern Kentucky's Taylor Filipek during Thursday's game in Richmond, Ky. (Courtesy of the Richmond, Ky. Register)

EKU (14-11, 8-6), which beat Southeast 64-52 on Jan. 15 in Cape Girardeau, moved into a fifth-place tie. The Colonels have won seven of their last nine games and nine of their last 12.

"They were on fire tonight," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "I give them credit, but I was disappointed. I thought defensively they really broke us down.

"They're good. They shoot the ball well. Their experience really exposed us tonight. We just couldn't get stops."

A tight first half that featured 10 lead changes and three ties ended with Southeast behind just 31-28.

But the second half was all EKU, which quickly built an 11-point advantage and never was threatened. The Colonels shot a sizzling 64 percent in the period.

The Colonels' biggest margin was 21 points, and they still led by 20 points with less than two minutes left. Only a late Southeast flurry made the final score a bit more respectable.

"We felt like we were within striking distance at halftime," Nutt said. "But they just blew it open in the second half."

Junior forward Leon Powell led Southeast with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Senior guard Anthony Allison also had 16 points, bouncing back from a shoulder injury suffered during Monday's win at SIU-Edwardsville.

Junior guard Marcus Brister added 10 points off the bench, all in the second half. He also had a team-high four assists.

"I thought Marcus gave us some good energy," Nutt said.

Sophomore guard Marland Smith, who had scored at least 27 points in four of Southeast's previous six games, was held to four points. He attempted just six shots, making one.

The Redhawks shot 51 percent from the field, the third straight game -- all on the road -- they have been over 50 percent.

"Offensively, we're doing some good things," Nutt said.

Senior guard Spencer Perrin and senior forward Justin Stommes both scored 20 points to pace the Colonels. They combined to make 15 of 26 shots, including 5 of 6 3-pointers.

EKU features the OVC's most prolific 3-point shooting squad, having made 197 from beyond the arc. It went 8 for 15 against Southeast for 53.3 percent, above its season average of 37 percent.

"We could not stop them defensively. That was the story of the game," Nutt said. "That's been our problem all year, getting defensive stops."

Southeast plays its fourth straight road game Saturday, visiting second-place Morehead State (18-8, 10-4) for a 6:45 p.m. tipoff.

The Eagles, who beat Southeast 76-63 on Jan. 13 at the Show Me Center, have won six straight.