Southeast Missouri (15-15, 10-7 OVC) at SIU Edwardsville (17-13, 8-9 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m., CT
Location: Edwardsville, Ill.
Facility: First Community Arena (4,000)
Series: SEMO leads, 26-12
Head Coaches: Brad Korn (40-49 overall; 40-49 at SEMO; 27-27 OVC). Brian Barone (45-74 overall; 45-74 at SIUE; 23-47 OVC).

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

Redhawks Close Out Regular-Season 
Southeast Missouri (15-15, 10-7) wraps up the 2022-23 regular-season when it visits SIU Edwardsville (17-13, 8-9) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m., CT at First Community Arena.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Rusty Hendricks will be on the call. Video can be accessed at ESPN+. Live stats are available at SIUECougars.com and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOMBB.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and SIU Edwardsville meet for the 39th time Saturday. SEMO holds a 26-12 lead in the all-time series. The Redhawks won each of the last six meetings between the teams and swept the Cougars each of the previous two seasons. SEMO goes for a third-straight sweep of SIUE after beating the Cougars, 82-73, in Cape Girardeau on Dec. 31.

In the Hunt for the #2 Seed
After Southeast Missouri's close double overtime loss at Lindenwood (Feb. 23), there is now a four-way tie for second in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. SEMO, UT Martin, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech are all tied with 10-7 league records. The Redhawks can clinch the #2 seed in next week's OVC Tournament if it wins against SIUE and both UTM and TTU lose. The Skyhawks are at Morehead State and the Golden Eagles play at Eastern Illinois Saturday.

OVC Tournament Picture
Seven teams have locked up a spot in the eight-team Ohio Valley Conference Tournament field entering the final day of the regular-season. Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, UT Martin, SIU Edwardsville, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech are all headed to Evansville, Indiana. The final spot will go to either Lindenwood or Little Rock.

Korn's Crew
The Redhawks will head to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the third-straight year under Head Coach Brad Korn. In all, Southeast Missouri makes its 18th OVC Tournament appearance in program history. SEMO also made the league's postseason fling in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022.

10 OVC Wins
With its 85-80 victory over Southern Indiana (Feb. 18), Southeast Missouri picked up its 10th Ohio Valley Conference win of the season. It is the first time in 23 years where SEMO recorded 10 or more conference wins in a season. The Redhawks last went 14-4 during the 1999-2000 campaign. Overall, it is just the fourth time SEMO won 10 or more OVC games in a season in program history. The Redhawks also went 10-8 in 1997-98, 15-3 in 1998-99 and 14-4 in 1999-00.

Russell Misses Thursday's Game 
Southeast Missouri was without its top scorer Phillip Russell in Thursday's game at Lindenwood. Russell served a one-game suspension after the Ohio Valley Conference determined he committed repeated violations of the league's Sportsmanship policy. He will be back for SEMO's regular- season finale at SIU Edwardsville.

Winning OVC Record
For the eighth time in program history, the Redhawks claimed a winning season in Ohio Valley Conference play. Southeast Missouri's 10-6 record assured itself its first OVC winning campaign since 2016-17 (9-7). 

Redhawks Drop Thriller at Lindenwood 
Lindenwood overcame a 20-point deficit to pull off a 105-102 double overtimewin over Southeast Missouri Thursday in St. Charles. SEMO did not trail for the first 40 minutes, but LU outscored the Redhawks, 46-33, in the second half to set up overtime. A putback layup by Remy Lemovou and two free throws by Chris Childs sealed it for the Lions in the final seconds.

Overtime Games
Southeast Missouri played its second overtime game of the season at Lindenwood (Feb. 23). SEMO also went double overtime with Tennessee Tech on Jan. 21. That game resulted in a 84-77 home win for the Redhawks.

Season-High 102 Points
The Redhawks scored a season-high 102 points in their latest game at Lindenwood (Feb. 23). Three players, including Chris Harris (36), Aquan Smart (22), and Israel Barnes (20) scored 20 or more points. Interestingly enough, Southeast Missouri last scored over 100 points in a game during a 102-66 win over Quincy on Nov. 12, 2018.

Harris Springs for Career-High 36 Points
Chris Harris became the second Redhawk to score over 30 points in a game this season when he finished with a career-high 36 at Lindenwood (Feb. 23). Harris shot 11-of-13 from the field and made a career-best 13 free throws. His 36 points are second-most to Phillip Russell in a game this season. Russell scored 37 points on two occasions.

Smart Nabs New Career-High
Aquan Smart put up a new career-high 22 points at Lindenwood (Feb. 23). Smart shot 8-of-14 from the field, made three 3-pointers and went 3-of-6 at the free throw line. He also dished out four assists and had four steals. Smart scored over 20 points for the first time as a Redhawk.

Welcome to the Club
Chris Harris, Southeast Missouri's second-leading scorer with 14.5 points a game, recently went over 1,000 career points when he scored 20 vs. Southern Indiana (Feb. 18). Harris now has 1,045 points and is the 25th member of SEMO's 1,000-point club.

Another Countdown to 1,000
Phillip Russell, who leads the Redhawks with 515 points and an 18.4 points per game average this season, has 916 points in his career. Russell needs 84 more to join Southeast Missouri's 1,000-point club.

About SIUE
SIU Edwardsville, which was first in the Ohio Valley Conference the last time it faced Southeast Missouri, had lost seven of its last 10 games. SIUE carries a three-game losing skid into Saturday's matchup. Ray'Sean Taylor leads the Cougars and ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with 15.7 points per game. SIUE is the league's top free throw shooting team with a 73.5 percent clip. The Cougars have made 513 free throws this year. SIUE also tops the conference with 4.1 blocks per game.