Saint Xavier (Ill.) (4-7) vs. Southeast Missouri (4-6)

Game Information
Date: Sunday, December 14, 2025
Tip-Off: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series: First Meeting

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Coaches
Saint Xavier: Robert Ford (80-52 overall; 80-52 at SXU)
Southeast Missouri: Brad Korn (78-91 overall; 78-91 at SEMO; 46-47 OVC)

Final Tune-Up
•    Southeast Missouri (4-6) wraps up non-conference play when it hosts NAIA affiliate Saint Xavier (Ill.) (4-7) Sunday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.
•    SEMO is back in action following an eight-day break for final exams.
•    This year marks the third-straight where the Redhawks play their final non-conference game at home against a non-Division I opponent.
•    SEMO plays its third afternoon game at the Show Me Center this season.
•    The Redhawks also hosted St. Thomas (Nov. 15) and Lipscomb (Nov. 29) in such contests.

Series Notes
•    The Redhawks meet Saint Xavier for the first time in 2025-26.
•    Saint Xavier is located in Chicago, Illinois.
•    SXU is a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Against Non-Division I
•    Saint Xavier is the third non-Division I school Southeast Missouri faces this season.
•    SEMO blew out Webster University (87-41, Nov. 12) and St. Mary of the Woods (88-57, Dec. 2) in its first two matchups.
•     The Redhawks are on a 42-game winning streak against non-Division I opponents.
•     Head Coach Brad Korn is 13-0 all-time in such games.
•     Korn is 2-0 vs. Missouri Baptist, 1-0 vs. William Woods, 1-0 vs. Harris-Stowe, 1-0 vs. Lindsay Wilson College, 2-0 vs. Webster, 1-0 vs. Lyon College, 1-0 vs. Crowley's Ridge, 1-0 vs. Bethel (Tenn.), 2-0 vs. St. Mary of the Woods and 1-0 vs. Westminster.
•     The Redhawks have not allowed more than 61 points in their last 11 meetings with non-Division I teams. SEMO outscored its opponents by a combined 956-547 (+409) in that span.

December Wins
•    The Redhawks are 2-0 in December after beating St. Mary of the Woods, 88-57, at home on Dec. 2 and Chattanooga, 74-70, on the road Dec. 6.
•    It is the third time Southeast Missouri started December with two-straight wins under Head Coach Brad Korn.
•    SEMO also won its first two December games during the 2021-22 and 2023-24 campaigns.

Non-Conference Play Ends
•    Sunday marks the end of Southeast Missouri's 11-game non-conference schedule.
•    SEMO looks to wrap up non-league action with a victory for the second year in a row.
•    The Redhawks have four non-conference wins this season with victories over Webster (Nov. 12), Cal Poly (Nov. 25), St. Mary of the Woods (Dec. 2) and Chattanooga (Dec. 6).

Three More
•    Brad Korn is three wins away from moving to second all-time in victories during Southeast Missouri's NCAA Division I era.
•    Korn has won 78 games and currently ranks third on that list behind Gary Garner (126, 1997-2006) and Dickey Nutt (80, 2009-15).
•    Korn led SEMO to 21 wins in 2024-25, its second-most in a season since the Redhawks moved to the Division I ranks.

Gritty Road Win
•    Southeast Missouri picked up its first true road win of the season with a 74-70 victory over Chattanooga (Dec. 6).
•    Neither team led by more than five points in an up-tempo game that featured 13 ties and 19 lead changes.
•    SEMO scored four points in the final 59 seconds to grind out its win over the 2024-25 Southern Conference Regular-Season and NIT Champion Mocs.

Cole, Jr. Rises
•    Troy Cole, Jr. provided a late spark to send the Redhawks to their win over Chattanooga (Dec. 6).
•    Cole, Jr. stole the ball and threw down a dunk to give Southeast Missouri a 70-68 edge with 1:39 to go.
•    After Makai Richards made two free throws to tie the game one last time, Cole, Jr. drove the baseline for another dunk to put SEMO up again (72-70).
•    Following a missed shot by former Redhawk Teddy Washington, Jr., SEMO got the rebound and Braxton Stacker was fouled and later hit two free throws to finish off the Mocs.
•    Cole, Jr. had a season-high nine points and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.

Idada and Bell in Starting Lineup
•    David Idada and Marqueas Bell made their first starts of the season vs. St. Mary of the Woods (Dec. 2).
•    It was the first time both Idada and Bell were in the starting lineup since Mar. 2, 2024 (at Southern Indiana).
•    Idada scored six points in 12 minutes and Bell had nine points and three boards in 17 minutes.
•    Bell and Idada started the last two games and Southeast Missouri is 2-0 since they joined the starting lineup.

Winning the Second Half
•    Southeast Missouri won the second half in four of its last five games. 
•    SEMO recently outscored Chattanooga, 30-24, in the game's final 20 minutes to get a 74-70 win on Dec. 6.
•    The Redhawks are outscoring opponents, 407-379 (+28) in the second half this year.

Better from Three
•    After making just seven 3-pointers (7-of-40) in its previous two games combined, Southeast Missouri bounced back to match a season-high with nine at Chattanooga (Dec. 6).
•    Luke Almodovar led the way with four threes, while BJ Ward and Braxton Stacker added two apiece and Troy Cole, Jr. made one.
•    Almodovar was 0-of-11 from 3-point range in the two games before Chattanooga.

Battle Tested
•    At one time this season, Southeast Missouri had the 10th toughest schedule in the nation.
•    Now, SEMO is 47th among NCAA Division I teams in that category.
•    The Redhawks non-conference Division I opposition, which included Saint Louis (8-1), Missouri (8-2), Iowa (8-1), St. Thomas (7-4), Cal Poly (5-6), Northern Arizona (4-4), Lipscomb (6-4) and Chattanooga (4-5) is a combined 50-28 (.641).

Strong at Home
•    Brad Korn posted a winning record at home each of his first five seasons as head coach.
•    Southeast Missouri's 12-3 record at the Show Me Center in 2024-25 is his best home record to date.
•    Korn is 46-26 all-time in Cape Girardeau.
•    The Redhawks won six of their last seven home games dating back to last season.
•    SEMO led the Ohio Valley Conference in home attendance during OVC play a year ago.
•    The Redhawks are 2-2 at home this season and are in Cape Girardeau for three of their final four non-conference games.

Call Me for Assistance
•    BJ Ward ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 43 assists through 10 starts this season.
•    Ward is averaging 4.3 per game and has dished out five or more assists in four of his starts.
•    He matched his career-high of seven assists three times this year, as well.
•    Ward went over 150 assists at Iowa (Nov. 18) and has 172 in his career.
•    He also ranks second in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.1).

Lineup Combinations
•    Southeast MIssouri has used three different lineup combinations through its first nine games this season.
•    BJ Ward, Braxton Stacker, Troy Cole, Jr., Luke Almodovar and Brendan Terry started four games (1-3).
•    Ward, Stacker, Landren Blocker, Almodovar and Terry started four games (1-3).
•    And, Ward, Stacker, Blocker, David Idada and Marqueas Bell started two contests (2-0).

Redhawks Second in OVC in Field Goal Percentage
•    Southeast Missouri is second in the Ohio Valley Conference in field goal percentage with a 46 percent clip.
•    SEMO shot a season-best 52 percent (26-of-50) at Big Ten Conference member Iowa (Nov. 18).
•    Tennessee Tech leads the conference with a .468 field goal percentage.

Double-Digit Margins
•    Seven of the Redhawks first 10 games this season have been decided by double-digits.
•    Southeast Missouri's double-digit wins thus far include an 87-41 victory vs. Webster (Nov. 12), 84-68 win over Cal Poly (Nov. 25) and 88-57 win over St. Mary of the Woods (Dec. 2).
•    SEMO fell to Saint Louis (92-67, Nov. 3) and Iowa (99-70, Nov. 18) on the road, and St. Thomas (84-72, Nov. 15) and Lipscomb (88-77, Nov. 29) at home in the other four matchups.

Stacker is Rolling
•    Braxton Stacker scored double figures in nine of his first 10 starts of the 2025-26 campaign.
•    Stacker scored 10 or more points in his last six starts.
•    He opened the year with 12 points at Saint Louis (Nov. 3) and followed that up with a career-high 26 points four days later at Missouri (Nov. 7). He then finished with 10 points vs. Webster (Nov. 12), 11 at Iowa (Nov. 18), 18 vs. Cal Poly (Nov. 25), 15 at Northern Arizona (Nov. 26), 24 vs. Lipscomb (Nov. 29), 10 vs. St. Mary of the Woods (Dec. 2) and 12 at Chattanooga (Dec. 6).
•    He has scored double figures a team-high 27 times in his career.
•    Stacker ranks first on the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) and leads the Redhawks in steals (14), free throw percentage (29-of-31, .935) and is second in 3-point field goals made (20).
•    Stacker rates ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring and leads the league in free throw percentage. He is also tied for 11th in steals.

About Saint Xavier
•    Saint Xavier is a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
•    SXU leads the CCAC in 3-point field goal percentage. The Cougars have made 95-of-273 threes at a rate of 34.8 percent.
•    The Cougars also lead the conference with 188 free throws made.
•    Davion Lawrence and DJ Wilson lead SXU in scoring with 15.5 and 11.4 points per game, respectively.
•    Lawrence has made a team-high 24 three-pointers, as well.
•    The Cougars have scored a league-high 901 points through 11 games this season.