CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri men's basketball will be back in action on Sunday, when they take on NCAA Division III member Aurora University in the Redhawks' second and final exhibition matchup. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m., CT. at the Show Me Center.

Listen to the game live at Real Rock 99.3 FM.

The campaign marks the 116th season of SEMO men's basketball. The Redhawks enter their third year under the direction of Head Coach Brad Korn. SEMO went 14-18 overall and placed fourth in the OVC with an 8-9 record in 2021-22. The Redhawks advanced to the semifinals of the OVC Tournament, as well.

Series History
The final exhibition of the 2022-23 season will be the first-ever meeting between Aurora University and the Redhawks.

Scouting the Opponent
The Spartans of Aurora University finished the 2021-22 season with a 5-18 overall record, going 4-12 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NAAC), losing in their conference tournament to Marian University (Feb. 19, 2021), 76-75, in overtime. 

During the season, Aurora averaged 67.2 points per game while shooting .405 from the field. From behind the arc, the Spartans shot .289 making 133 of 461. 

Julian Gatewood is the Spartans leading returner in points from a season ago. Gatewood, a Homewood, Illinois, native, played in 20 games last season for the Spartans while registering a .392 shooting percentage from the field and .304 from three-point range. 

Gatewood also picked up 2.5 rebounds per game. 

Following its exhibition with SEMO, Aurora University begins their regular season on Nov. 8 against Maranatha Baptist University. 

Last Time Out
SEMO most recently took on Fontbonne University (D-III) on Tuesday at the Show Me Center and won 67-52 to kick off the 2022-23 campaign. 

Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference players, Chris Harris and Phillip Russell led the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively, as SEMO opened its 2022-23 season in front of over 700 fans. Israel Barnes added 10 points in his first game as a Redhawk. 

Russell finished 5-for-15 shooting and 6-for-8 on free throws to go with four assists, two steals and two rebounds. 
 
Barnes was three boards away from a double-double, grabbing seven and going 4-for-10 on field goals. 
 
Nate Johnson made his return to the hardcourt after suffering a season-ending injury during the 2021-22 season. Johnson compiled six points (3-for-7 shooting) with three rebounds and a block in his first collegiate basketball game back since Dec. 30, 2021. 
 
Kobe Clark grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks. Josh Mitchell added six boards, three steals and a block.
 
Eight Redhawks made their SEMO debuts in the exhibition game Tuesday night in Barnes, Clark, Aquan Smart, Adam Larson, Evan Eursher, Tevin Gowins, Mitchell, and Mason Hanback. 

Larson hit consecutive triples in the opening half and finished with eight points. 

OVC Preseason Poll
Guards Phillip Russell and Chris Harris earned Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference and Southeast Missouri was picked fourth in this year's poll selected by the league's Head Coaches and Communication Directors.
 
A native of St. Louis, Russell earned Second-Team All-OVC and All-Newcomer honors in his first year at SEMO in 2021-22. He ranked second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game in 30 starts. Russell led the team with 95 assists and 37 steals. He ranked ninth in the OVC in scoring, 10th in assists (3.2 apg), 11th in free throw percentage (.733), 12th in steals (1.2 spg), 13th in 3-point field goals made (1.6 per game), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and 15th in minutes played (30.4 mpg).
 
Harris, who hails from Antioch, Illinois, claims Preseason All-OVC accolades for the second-straight year. He was SEMO's third-leading scorer with 9.4 points per game last season. Harris also ranked second on the team with 76 assists and tied for fourth with 20 steals. He rated 13th  in the league in assists (2.7 apg), eighth in free throw percentage (.763) and 14th in 3-point field goal percentage (.347).
 
SEMO, which secured the fourth seed in last year's OVC Tournament, accumulated a total of 115 points and two first-place votes in the preseason poll. Morehead State is the preseason favorite with 138 points and seven first-place nods. Tennessee State (130 pts., 2 first-place votes) and UT Martin (120 pts., 7 first-place votes) were also picked ahead of the Redhawks.
 
2022-23 Team Makeup
The Redhawks return five players and welcome 10 new players this year.
 
Point guard Phillip Russell and Dylan Branson are the returning starters, while Chris Harris saw action in 29 games and logged six starts. Nate Johnson and Adam Larson round out the returnees from 2021-22.
 
A native of St. Louis, Russell was second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and led the team in assists (95) in 30 starts a year ago. He shot 77.3 percent (99-of-135) at the free throw line and made a team-high 48 three-pointers. He also led SEMO with 37 steals and earned Second-Team All-OVC accolades.
 
Branson started 25 of 32 games and Harris finished as SEMO's third-leading scorer with 9.4 points per contest.
 
Four NCAA Division I transfers, including Aquan Smart (Florida International), Josh Earley (Tulsa), Gavyn Elkamil (Tulsa) and Kobe Clark(Georgetown) join the Redhawks this season.
 
Meanwhile, Israel Barnes (Newman University), David Idada (Golden State Prep), Tevin Gowins (Hazelwood Central), Josh Mitchell (Northeast Mississippi CC), Evan Eursher (The Webb School) and Mason Hanback (Tennessee Prep) complete the newcomers. Idada, a 7-footer, played professionally in the Netherlands.
 
Here Come the Redhawks
The 2022-23 Southeast Missouri men's basketball team will compete in 31 games with 13 at the Show Me Center.
 
SEMO tips off its third season under Head Coach Brad Korn at South Florida on Nov. 7. The Redhawks start a season in the Sunshine State for the first time in their NCAA Division I era. SEMO last faced a Florida school in 2010-11 (at Florida Gulf Coast).
 
The Redhawks four home non-conference matchups include non-Division I foes Lyon College (Nov. 12) and William Woods (Nov. 22) along with Purdue Fort Wayne (Dec. 7) and longtime rival Southern Illinois (Dec. 21).
 
SEMO and SIU square off for the 120th time on the hardwood in 2022-23, while PFW comes to Cape Girardeau on the back end of a home-and-home series.
 
The rest of the Redhawks non-league games feature trips to Missouri Valley Conference members Evansville (Nov. 16) and Bradley (Nov. 19), SEC opponent and in-state foe Missouri (Dec. 4), Arkansas State (Dec. 14) and Big Ten affiliate Iowa (Dec. 17). SEMO also plays three games at the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 26-28).
 
Iowa is the only team on SEMO's 2022-23 schedule that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Hawkeyes went 26-10 overall and finished fourth in the Big Ten.
 
The 2022-23 campaign, which is the 75th year of competition in the Ohio Valley Conference, marks the first in the league for Lindenwood, Little Rock and Southern Indiana who became official members on July 1. They join Eastern Illinois, Morehead State, SEMO, SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, and UT Martin to make up the 10-team league.
 
Each school will play an 18-game schedule which will begin on Thursday, December 29 and conclude on Saturday, February 25.
 
SEMO begins OVC play at Southern Indiana on Dec. 29.
 
The 2023 OVC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament is slated for March 1-4 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. It marks the sixth year in a row the event will be held at the venue.
 
Each OVC school is eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship, including Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, who are beginning the reclassification process to Division I. It was previously announced that should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up. Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the highest seed going into the tournament. 
 
All Conference games and home non-conference contests can be seen on ESPN networks, with the majority of games broadcast on ESPN+. Additional linear exposures on ESPNU and ESPN2 will be announced at a later date.
 
2021-22 Recap
The Redhawks went 14-18 overall and 8-9 in the OVC last season. SEMO advanced to the OVC Tournament semifinals for the first time in 17 years and only fourth time in program history. Guards Eric Reed, Jr. and Phillip Russell were named to the 2021-22 All-Ohio Valley Conference basketball teams. Reed, Jr. earned First-Team accolades, while Russell claimed Second-Team and All-Newcomer accolades. SEMO put a player on both the OVC first and second teams in a season for the first time since 2016-17 (Antonius Cleveland, First-Team; Denzel Mahoney, Second-Team).
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO will begin the 2022-23 regular season on Monday, Nov. 7, in Tampa, Florida, when it takes on American Athletic Conference member South Florida. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., CT.