Rebounds were the name of the game Saturday night as Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team defeated Southeastern Louisiana 63-59 at the Show Me Center.

The Redhawks pulled down 50 rebounds in the game, including 20 offensive rebounds, while the Lions grabbed 28 total boards and only five offensive rebounds.

Senior forward Aaron Adeoye was the main contributor to the rebounding clinic put on by Southeast by pulling down 14 rebounds on the night.

"I was just playing ball," Adeoye said. "And I think that's what everybody was doing. Just make sure to get every ball, rebound, and get out and go."

Even with Southeast's dominance on the glass, Southeastern Louisiana was able to make it interesting.

Southeast never trailed in the game, but saw its lead continue to be whittled down by the Lions in the second half.

With 15 seconds left in the game, Southeastern Louisiana had the possession and with Southeast clinging to a two-point lead, former Murray State and current Southeastern Louisiana guard Zay Jackson missed a shot in the paint.

Antonius Cleveland pulled down the rebound, and was fouled by Onochie Ochie with 4.4 seconds on the clock.

Cleveland missed the front end of a one and one, and Adeoye pulled down his biggest rebound of the game.

Adeoye was tied up for a jump ball, and with the possession arrow favoring the Redhawks, an inbound pass to senior combo-guard Jarekious Bradley set up two game sealing free throws by Bradley.

Bradley said he was calm when he stepped to the line in crunch time.

"Make these right here," Bradley told himself. "No pressure."

Coach Dickey Nutt had good things to say about Adeoye's performance.

"I thought Aaron Adeoye was outstanding tonight," Nutt said. "[He] played with that unselfish attitude."

The Lions were able to pull close thanks to shooting 57 percent from the field in the second half, while Southeast's shooting cooled off to 31 percent in the second half compared to 45 percent in the first.

Nutt was also very proud of the defensive effort from his team.

"Our defense kept us in it tonight," Nutt said. "I thought our defense was good to hold them to 38 percent."

Cleveland was also proud of the Redhawks' defense.

"I think it was a good win," Cleveland said. "Our defense was great."

Southeast was led in the scoring column by Bradley with 21 points in 36 minutes of action.

Despite ten first half turnovers, Southeast held a 12 point lead at the break. Cleveland led the Redhawks with ten first half points.

Southeast made 5 of 7 free throws in the first half alone, matching their game total of made free throws against Missouri last Tuesday.

The Redhawks shot 10-15 from the free-throw line in the game, after shooting 5-14 from the charity stripe in their previous game against Missouri earlier in the week.

Southeast was without senior forward Josh Langford because of a sprained ligament in his knee suffered late in the second half against Missouri, which gave freshman forward T.J. Thomas an opportunity for increased minutes.

"T.J. Thomas deserves a lot of credit," Nutt said. "I thought he was very, very good. He brought us a lot of energy tonight. He's quick on his feet, has a knack for blocking shots, rebounding, just getting his hands and deflecting everything."

Thomas played 14 minutes, 11 of which came in the first half and finished with four rebounds, two points, one steal and one assist.

Junior guard J.J. Thompson continued his better shooting as of late, making 2-4 three point attempts and went 3-4 from the free-throw line against the Lions. Thompson finished with 11 points.

The Redhawks host the Southern Illinois Salukis on Wednesday night in a 7 p.m. tipoff.