EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Southeast Missouri (11-15, 9-11) clinched the seven seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 69-63 win over SIU Edwardsville (9-16, 7-12) Saturday night at First Community Arena.

SEMO, which qualified for the OVC Tournament for the first time since it has been held in Evansville, Indiana, will begin postseason play against No. 2 Morehead State on Wednesday, Mar. 3. Tip is set for 9:30 p.m., CT at the Ford Center.

The Redhawks finished the regular-season strong with wins in four of their final five games. SEMO officially clinched its 16tth all-time OVC Tournament berth and first since 2017 when it beat Eastern Illinois on the road, 94-88, two days ago.

SEMO continued to build on its momentum with a strong first half.

The Redhawks heated up to make five of their first seven 3-pointers and shot 50 percent from long range en route to getting a 35-27 advantage at halftime.

Chris Harris made a jumper, was fouled and completed a 3-point play to give SEMO its largest lead of the half at 35-24 with 3:02 remaining.

SEMO took its biggest lead of the night when DQ Nicholas made a layup to make it a 47-31 game with 14:11 left. SIUE, however, answered with a 17-1 run to tie the game at 48-48.

Harris then scored five of the next eight points on two free throws and a 3-pointer. His trey gave the Redhawks a 56-51 lead with just under seven minutes to go. 

Reed, Jr., who buried a 3-pointer moments before Harris' trifecta, converted a 3-point play to give SEMO a 59-51 advantage at the 6:16 mark.

After SIUE pulled within three (61-58) with 3:49 on the clock, Darrious Agnew scored three big points to stretch SEMO's lead to six. 

SIUE managed to cut SEMO's lead to three, but the Redhawks made three free throws in the last 13 seconds to polish off their win. 

Harris scored 16 points to lead three Redhawks in double figures. Nicholas and Nana Akenten followed with 11 points apiece. Akenten also had 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

In Brad Korn's first year as SEMO's head coach, the Redhawks finished with nine conference wins, a +6 improvement in the win column from a year ago. This year marks the 10th time SEMO posted nine or more league wins during their 30 seasons in the OVC.