Redhawks tumble at home

Southeast Missouri State was more competitive in its second Ohio Valley Conference game.

The end result, however, was the same as Tennessee State beat the host Redhawks 83-72 on Saturday night.

Two days after losing at home to defending OVC champion Austin Peay by 24 points, the Redhawks hung with TSU much of the way.

TSU used a second-half spurt to break a tie, and held off repeated charges by the Redhawks before winning going away.

"We tried to pick up our intensity from the other night," sophomore forward Jajuan Maxwell said.

Southeast fell to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in OVC play. The Tigers are 3-4 and 1-1.

The Redhawks, after never leading against Austin Peay, led most of the first half Saturday.

Southeast's biggest advantage was seven points twice before the Redhawks carried a 29-27 advantage into the break.

"We got off to a good start," junior center Calvin Williams said. "We just have to finish strong."

It was 35-35 early in the second half when TSU scored six straight points to go ahead 41-35.

Southeast fought an uphill battle the rest of the night, trailing for the final 16 minutes.

Any time Southeast made a charge, it was turned back by unheralded TSU freshman guard Parker Smith.

After missing all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half, Smith buried five straight during one stretch midway through the second half.

Smith's fourth 3-pointer made it 62-50 with 8:05 left, and Southeast never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

"No. 30, that's what started their run," Maxwell said. "Our guys were fighting through picks, but he was just knocking down shots."

Smith finished with a career-high 16 points, all in the second half. He even had a four-point play, getting fouled on a successful 3-pointer.

"He just had a career night against us," Southeast acting coach Zac Roman said. "We got a hand in his face, but he just made shots."

Sophomore guard Gerald Robinson led the Tigers by matching his season average with 21 points, 19 in a second half that saw TSU outscore Southeast 56-43.

Junior wing Johnny Hill paced the Redhawks with a career-high 19 points.

Also in double figures for Southeast were Williams with 17 points, senior forward Jaycen Herring with 15 and Maxwell with 12.

After a poor-shooting first half by both teams, each side heated up in the final period.

Southeast shot 60 percent in the second half to finish at 47.3 percent, while TSU shot 56.7 percent in the second half to finish at 44.4 percent.

The Tigers hit 5 of 7 second-half 3-pointers -- led by Smith's perfect 5 of 5 -- after they missed all 10 of their first-half attempts from beyond the arc.

"They didn't hit a 3 in the first half, and he [Smith] made five in the second half," Roman said. "That was the difference in the game.

"And they knocked down their free throws at the end."

Despite the loss, Williams remained confident.

"We're improving some every game," he said. "We just have to stay together. It'll come."