Louisiana-Monroe 70, SE Oklahoma 59

Published Nov. 20, 2010 11:57 p.m. EST

foxsports

Fred Brown scored 21 points as Louisiana-Monroe defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State 70-59 on Saturday night to give coach Keith Richard his first victory with the Warhawks.

Louisiana-Monroe (1-2) scored just two points in the final 7 minutes of the first half, but still took a 28-23 lead into the break.

The Division II Savages pulled ahead by as many as seven points, 38-31, early in the second half, but Louisiana-Monroe rallied. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Hugh Mingo and Lawrence Gilbert, who had 14 points, gave the Warhawks a 48-45 lead with 10:45 to go.

Southeastern Oklahoma (1-1) missed 5 of 6 free throws over the next 2 minutes, and could get no closer than five from there.

After shooting just 30 percent (12 of 40) in the first half, the Warhawks improved to 44 percent (11 of 25) in the second.

Darrell Hicks led the Savages with 18 points and nine rebounds.