Raheem Appleby scored a game-high 21 points as Louisiana Tech got past Southeast Missouri State, 67-63, at McKenzie Arena as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic.

Cordarius Johnson went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc en route to 15 points while grabbing five rebounds, while Brandon Gibson contributed 12 points and five boards for the Bulldogs (3-1), who prevailed despite shooting just 37.3 percent from the floor.

Tyler Stone netted 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, while Nino Johnson also contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards for the Redhawks (3-2). Corey Wilford put home 16 points off the bench in the setback.

Louisiana Tech jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, but the Redhawks answered with an 11-6 push to tie the game at 13-13 with just over 10 minutes left on the first-half clock.

The Bulldogs held a slim one-possession lead for the majority of the half before a three-pointer by Marland Smith with less than a minute to go gave the Redhawks their first advantage of the game at 29-28. Southeast Missouri State led 32-31 at the break.

Louisiana Tech came out for the second half on fire, however, scoring the first 12 points of the period to build a 43-32 advantage.

Appleby and Gibson scored four points apiece during the surge, which was capped by a Gibson layup with just over five minutes gone in the second stanza.

The Redhawks hung around, though, and a Nino Johnson layup pulled them within 53-50 with just over eight minutes to play.

Southeast Missouri State could not get any closer, however, and the Bulldogs held on for the victory.

Game Notes