Marland Smith tied his career high with 30 points Saturday night to lead Southeast Missouri State to an 85-72 victory over SIU-Edwardsville.
Tyler Stone added 20 points for the Redhawks (14-11, 9-4 Ohio Valley), who shot 53.4 percent (31 of 58) in winning their second straight. Nick Niemczyk added 11 points. Smith and Stone each grabbed nine rebounds.
Kris Davis' 20 points led the Cougars (7-15, 5-8). Mark Yelovich added 15 points, Corey Wickware 13 and Jerome Jones 12.
The Cougars forged an early 17-9 lead. But the Redhawks parlayed a 14-0 run, including 10 points by Smith, into a 38-33 halftime lead.
Edwardsville closed with 56-53 with 11:57 to go on Wickware's 3-pointer, but Corey Wilford scored five straight points and Stone added a basket for a 63-53 Southeast Missouri advantage with 9:58 left. The Cougars got no closer than three points after that.
