MONDAY'S SCORES
@#11 Florida State 85,
Southeast Missouri 68
@Drake 79,
SIUE 66
#11 FLORIDA STATE 85, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 68
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Ledarrius Brewer scored 16 points and Southeast Missouri (5-7) matched a season-high 14 three-pointers in an 85-68 loss to #10 Florida State (9-1) Monday night.
SEMO started strong, burying seven 3-pointers in the opening stanza.
Brewer scored the Redhawks first eight points of the game and knocked down a 3-pointer to put SEMO ahead, 8-6, with 16:42 remaining.
After Brewer's make, SEMO led for the next 15:42 and widened its lead to 10 (18-8) when Alex Caldwell found Gabe McGlothan underneath for a layup.
A 3-pointer by Melbourne, Florida native Skyler Hogan gave the Redhawks their largest lead of the half at 21-10 with 10:14 left.
FSU, after pulling within a point twice, took its first lead since the 16:58 mark when Trent Forrest scored on a fast break layup. Forrest's basket gave the Seminoles a 32-31 edge with a minute on the clock.
Hogan quickly regained a 34-32 advantage for the Redhawks when he nailed a 3-pointer 10 seconds later, but Christ Koumadje's putback dunk sent the game to a 34-34 deadlock at halftime. The dunk was one of four for the 7'4" Koumadje in the opening stanza.
FSU heated up to shoot 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the field and outscored SEMO, 51-34, in the second half to come away with its 30th-straight non-conference victory.
The Seminoles used a 15-2 run with 14:46 left as SEMO shot 1-of-7 during that stretch.
FSU led by as many as 24 points when Forrest's layup gave the Seminoles a 80-56 lead at the 3:06 mark.
Forrest finished with a game-high 23 points as one of four Seminoles in double figures. He shot 8-of-12 from the field, dished out four assists and had three steals. Devin Vassell followed with 16 points, David Nicholls added 13 and Koumadje chipped in 12.
FSU also outscored SEMO, 16-4, at the free throw line.
Brewer made 6-of-13 field goals, a pair of 3-pointers and went 2-of-2 at the free throw line. He led SEMO in scoring for the fifth time this season and scored double figures for the 10thtime in 12 starts.
Hogan scored 14 points on 5-of-9 from the field and knocked down a game-high 4-of-7 three-pointers in the return to his home state.
Jonathan Dalton contributed a game-high five assists, as well.
SEMO shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) for the night and held FSU under 30 percent (26.9, 7-of-26) from long range.
DRAKE 79, SIUE 66
DES MOINES, Iowa - A 10-point run at the start of the second half help vault Drake to a 79-66 win over SIUE in the first game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.
SIUE drops to 2-6 with the loss. Drake improved to 7-2. The Cougars continue tournament play on the road at Washington State Wednesday night.
Senior David McFarland paced four Cougars in double figures. He led all scorers with 19 points. Brandon Jackson scored 11 points and Tyresse Williford added 10.
Jaylen McCoy scored 12 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting.
SIUE got a combined 21 points from five bench players.
The Cougars stayed close with the Bulldogs for the majority of the first half and led by four after a three-pointer by McCoy with 11:44 left. Drake led 40-32 at halftime.
The 10-0 run at the start of the second period put the Bulldogs in front 50-32. They would lead by as many as 20 (56-36) before the Cougars made a run to close the gap to single digits.
SIUE scored the next eight straight points and made a 15-4 run over the next five-plus minutes to trim the lead to 60-51. Drake pushed the lead back to double digits on a Nick Norton layup which made it 64-53 with 6:19 to play and the Cougars never pulled within single digits again.
Norton led Drake with 15 points. Nick McGlynn scored 13, D.J. Wilkins added 12 and Anthony Murphy scored 11.
The Cougars forced 20 Bulldog turnovers but manages only 15 points as a result. SIUE finished with a season-high 13 steals. It was the most in a game for the Cougars since the 2016 season opener at Hawaii.