COLUMN: Could this finally be SEMO's year?

It's been 23 years since the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team played in the NCAA Tournament.

Nobody in my sports staff at the Southeast Missourian was alive back then. I was a fourth-grader playing Pokemon Silver and waiting for the Xbox to hit the shelf.

After rallying in the second half to defeat top-seeded Morehead State 65-58 in the semifinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Friday, the Redhawks have advanced to the OVC championship game for the first time since 2000. Tip-off for that titanic tilt is 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Eagles carried a 51-45 lead with 8:43 left in the second half after a Mark Freeman layup. By the time the Eagles scored another bucket and looked up toward the scoreboard, there were two minutes left in the game and the Redhawks were leading 57-52 thanks to a 12-0 run.

The Redhawks outscored the Ealges 20-7 in the final 8:43, and Phillip Russell scored five points in the game's final minutes to seal the win.

The Redhawks were led by the dynamic guard duo of Chris Harris, who scored 15 points with seven rebounds, and Russell, who chipped in 14 points with three baskets from the three-point line. Forward Josh Early scored 11 points and led the Redhawks with 13 rebounds for the game's only double-double.

The guard-centered offense, which includes Isreal Barnes (10 points), has been a hallmark of head coach Brad Korn's offensive system.

"How we've thought and designed our system is, what would be the hardest thing to do if I had to do a scouting report on our team," Korn said on Thursday, "and I think that's the way that we play. There's a lot of space out there. We have dynamic guard play. We try to keep it fairly simple but, at the same time, be extremely hard to guard."

Korn has built his program over the past three seasons to share the ball with a guard-heavy offense, and Johnson's mature play is the final component.

"When we share the basketball, that's why we've had so much success offensively in the league, really the three years that we've been here," Korn said. "To go along with guard play and a center that knows what he's supposed to do and where he can be successful too, the floor is open."

The Redhawks have improved each year since Korn arrived at Cape Girardeau three years ago. SEMO reached the OVC Tournament for the first time since 2017 in Korn's first season in 2021. The next year, the Redhawks reached the semifinal round of that tournament for the first time since 2005. Now they get to play a game for a trip to the field of 68.

It was a long road for the Redhawks, who have played three games in the last three days. SEMO started its run by defeating Lindenwood 84-65 in the first round on Wednesday, a rubber match of a rivalry that is in its infancy. Then Nate Johnson scored a career-high 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting to help the Redhawks top Tennessee State 91-83 in the quarterfinal round on Thursday to set them up in the semifinals.

"We have really good guards," Johnson said on Thursday. "Every single time I can do down there and be in the right positions and just call for the ball, then I'm gonna do what I got to do to get to the rim, score, and hit free throws, something I've been working on."

So could this finally be the year the Redhawks win the conference and punch their ticket to the big dance? For the first time since Y2K, that question will be answered by the results of one more game.