SEMO medical team provides important care to Indiana basketball player

Everyone plays to win. But there are times when the final score is not the biggest storyline.

That was the case last month when the SEMO men's basketball team won its final home game of the year over Southern Indiana. With 17.7 seconds left in the game, USI player Tyler Henry collapsed on the bench. The player was stretchered off the court but was talking with teammates as he was taken to the hospital.

Both teams decided to end the game at that point with the Redhawks up 85-80.

SEMO coach Brad Korn praised the health professionals on the scene for providing quick aid to the player.

"You have to give Amanda Martin, our trainer, a ton of credit," Korn said. "She was over there right away along with all the EMTs and first responders. Those are critical moments as we've seen, unfortunately, in sports so you have to give them a ton of credit."

The Southeast Missourian reached out to Southern Indiana on Wednesday to check on the player. Ray Simmons, USI director of athletic communication, said due to HIPPA he was not allowed to share any updates other than Henry had been released by the hospital and was under observation by medical professionals. It was going to be a decision that evening if he would play.

Sure enough, Henry did see game action on Wednesday evening in his team's first-round OVC Tournament loss to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

We're glad to see the player is doing well and back on the court. Like Korn, we'd like to offer our praise to the SEMO medical team for their quick action. As we've seen in cases such as Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills, medical personnel can play an important role in athletics. And sometimes it can be life-saving.