Southeast Missouri at Grand Canyon

Game Information
Date: Monday, November 6, 2023
Tip-Off: 8 p.m., CT
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
Facility: GCU Arena (7,000)
Series: First Meeting
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (44-51 Overall; 44-51 at SEMO; 27-28 OVC). Bryce Drew (229-135 Overall; 64-27 at GCU; 33-15 WAC).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GCULopes.com
Twitter: @SEMOMBB
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) 

Redhawks Start Season at Grand Canyon
Southeast Missouri tips off its 2023-24 season out west at Grand Canyon University Monday. Start time is set for 8 p.m., CT at GCU Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean will be on the call. Video can be accessed online at ESPN+. Live stats are available at GCULopes.com. Updates will be provided on X (formerly Twitter) @SEMOMBB.

Series History
This year marks the first meeting between Southeast Missouri and Grand Canyon. GCU is a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Lopes are the sixth WAC team SEMO faces it its program history. SEMO is 7-5 all-time against WAC schools with games played vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (3-1), Abilene Christian (2-2), UT Arlington (1-0), Southern Utah (1-1) and California Baptist (0-1).

Headed West
Southeast Missouri opens its season in Phoenix, Arizona, 1,509 miles from Cape Girardeau. SEMO will visit the Grand Canyon State for a basketball game for the first time in program history. Grand Canyon University is one of just four NCAA Division I Arizona schools along with Arizona, Arizona State and Northern Arizona. It is the longest trip the Redhawks make for a season-opener since they began the 2014-15 campaign at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, California.

Season-Openers
The Redhawks are 13-19 in season-opening games during their NCAA Division I era. Southeast Missouri opens a season away from home for the 17th time in 18 years when it travels to Grand Canyon. SEMO is 3-0 in season-opening games under Head Coach Brad Korn. Each of those wins came outside of Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks have never won four-straight season-openers on the road.

From Redhawk to Lope
Grand Canyon forward Gabe McGlothan spent his freshman season at Southeast Missouri in 2018-19. McGlothan started 11 of the final 12 games and finished 10th in rebounding (7.1 rpg) during Ohio Valley Conference play that season. He is now in his fourth year with the Lopes. McGlothan, a Second-Team All-Western Athletic Conference and WAC All- Tournament Team pick, was GCU's second- leading scorer (12.8 ppg) and top rebounder (7.6 rpg) a season ago. He also went over 1,000 points in his career.

2023 NCAA Tournament Participants 
Southeast Missouri and Grand Canyon were both NCAA Tournament participants in 2022-23. SEMO won four games in four days to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and GCU went 4-0 to win the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. The Redhawks ended their season with a loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the NCAA First Four in Dayton, Ohio while the Lopes fell to #3 Gonzaga the first round in Denver, Colorado.

Four Will Make First Career Starts 
Forward Josh Earley and guards Rob Martin, Braxton Stacker and TJ Biel will make their first career starts at Southeast Missouri Monday. Earley played in 31 games off the bench in his first season at SEMO a year ago. Martin, Biel and Stacker are each in their first season with the Redhawks.

Year Four for Korn
Brad Korn begins his fourth year as Southeast Missouri's head coach. Korn led SEMO to its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in over two decades during the 2022-23 season. SEMO became the first #5 seed to ever win the OVC Tournament winning four games in four days along the way. Korn is 44-51 overall and 27-28 in the OVC as the Redhawks head coach.

Branson Out
Southeast Missouri will be without starting guard Dylan Branson for Monday's season-opener at Grand Canyon. Branson is currently out with a foot injury.

Returning Starters
Guards Dylan Branson and Aquan Smart are the only starters returning from a year ago. Branson is the most experienced on Southeast Missouri's roster. A two-year starter who is in his fourth year with the program, Branson played in a total of 91 games and made 54 starts in his career. In 2022-23, he averaged 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Branson ranked fifth on the team with 26 three-pointers made, dished out 60 assists and added 30 steals. Smart started 25 of 32 games averaging 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds. He ranked second on the team in both assists (70) and steals (48).

First Look
Eight players will make their debuts for Southeast Missouri this upcoming 2023-24 season. Returnees Gavyn Elkamil and David Idada will see their first action in the red and black. Elkamil was out the 2022-23 season with a shoulder injury and Idada was sidelined due to NCAA Division I regulations. Six newcomers, including TJ BIel, Rob Martin, BJ Ward, Asa Barnes, Marqueas Bell and Braxton Stacker are first-year Redhawks.

Redhawks Down Henderson State in Only Exhibition Matchup
Aquan Smart scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and had six assists to lead Southeast Missouri to a 76-61 exhibition win over Henderson State in exhibition action on Oct. 23. Smart scored 10 of his points in the first half and did not miss a free throw going 8-of-8 at the charity stripe. SEMO trailed, 22-16, with 10:53 remaining in the first half when it used an 11-0 run to take a five-point advantage. Evan Eursher made a jumper get the Redhawks within two and Braxton Stacker threw an alley oop pass to TJ Biel who threw down a dunk to tie the game at 22-22. Smart then drained a 3-pointer off a HSU turnover and Josh Earley added a second-chance layup to push SEMO's lead to 27-22 with just under seven minutes left. The Reddies tied things up at 29-29 at the 4:31 mark, but the Redhawks built their biggest lead of the half at 38-32 on two free throws by Smart. Tim McDonald's 3-pointer at the buzzer narrowed the score to 38-35 at the intermission. SEMO never trailed again and got a nice lift from Earley to start the second half. Earley scored the first eight points in 3:16. His dunk at the end of that stretch extended the Redhawks lead to 46-37 with 16:44 to go. Shortly after Ken Lewis made two free throws to get HSU within three (48-45), David Idada scored in the paint and Gavyn Elkamil rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Biel and scored to put SEMO ahead, 52-45, with 10:41 left. Stacker's corner 3-pointer ran the Redhawks lead to double-digits (55-45). That make was part of a 7-0 run for SEMO during a period where HSU didn't score for over four-and-a-half minutes. Dylan Branson's second-chance layup gave SEMO a 63-50 lead. The Reddies, however, kept chipping away and countered with a 9-0 run. McDonald's two free throws closed SEMO's lead to 63-59 including TJ Beel, Rob Martin, BJ Ward, Asa Barnes, Marqueas Bell and Braxton Stacker are first-year Redhawks.

Statistically Speaking
In league play alone, Southeast Missouri was the top Ohio Valley Conference scoring team with an average of 81.4 points per game. The Redhawks put up 80 or more points in 11 of their 18 OVC contests. Overall, SEMO was first in the league in turnover margin (+1.56) forcing an average of 14.6 per game. The Redhawks assisted on 497 of their 958 made field goals at a rate of 51.8 percent during the 2022-23 campaign. The 497 assists were fifth-most in program history. SEMO also established top-five single-season marks during their program's tenure in OVC wins (t4th, 10), points (3rd, 2,798), field goals attempted (2nd, 2,191), 3-pointers made (2nd, 286), 3-pointers attempted (1st, 875), free throws made (3rd, 587), free throws attempted (4th, 828) and steals (2nd, 251).

Experienced Veteran
Dylan Branson is the most experienced on Southeast Missouri's 15-man roster this season. Branson has played in 91 games and made 54 starts in his career. A two-year starter, Branson is in his fourth year with the program. He enters the 2023-24 season with a streak of 22 consecutive starts.

Korn Contract Extension
Southeast Missouri Head Coach Brad Korn agreed to a four-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Brady Barke announced on July 26, 2023. Korn's new contract will run through April 30, 2027.

Newest Redhawks
The Redhawks welcome six new players, including three transfers and three freshmen. Guard Rob Martin spent the 2022-23 season at Missouri Valley Conference member Indiana State. Martin played in 12 games as a reserve finishing with 11 points, nine assists and four rebounds. TJ Biel, another guard, started four of nine games while averaging 9.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in one season at Triton College. Before that, Biel was an All-Region 24 honoree at Vincennes University in 2021-22. Guard Braxton Stacker comes to SEMO from former Ohio Valley Conference member Murray State, where he grabbed four rebounds in 12 games off the bench last season. Guards Marques Bell, BJ Ward and Asa Barnes are the freshemen. A Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 6 All-State selection, Bell scored 20.7 points and averaged 5.1 rebounds as a senior at Park Hill High School. He is the younger brother of former Michigan and current San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ronnie Bell. Ward was a three-year starting point guard at Chaminade College Preparatory School. He averaged 14.8 points and led the team with 195 assists and 33 steals his senior year. A walk-on, Barnes joins the Redhawks from Wichita Southeast High School. He is the younger brother of Israel Barnes, who played one season at SEMO in 2022-23.

About the Lopes
Grand Canyon is the 2023-24 Western Athletic Conference preseason favorite after completing last season with a 24-12 overall record. The Lopes won the WAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. GCU guard Ray Harrison is the WAC Preseason Player of the Year. A First-Team All-Conference pick, Harrison averaged 21.1 points and 3.6 assists per game in 17 conference starts a year ago. Former SEMO forward Gabe McGlothan joined Harrison on the WAC Preseason All-Conference Team.

GCU Havocs
When Southeast Missouri visits Grand Canyon, it will play in front of one of the rowdiest student sections in college basketball. The GCU Havocs strive to be the most spirited, energetic and distruptive student section in the country.

Back-to-Back Road Games
Southeast Missouri will be on the road for its first two games of the 2023-24 season. SEMO faces Grand Canyon (Nov. 6) and heads to Butler (Nov. 10) during its opening week.