It's time for Redhawks fans to start getting excited

If Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Scott Edgar thought Tuesday's game at Samford deserved a wow, then what do you say about Thursday's contest at Jacksonville State?

Maybe a double wow?

That's probably appropriate after the Redhawks pulled out two last-second wins that have given their Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title hopes an early boost.

For the first time since the NCAA tournament season of 1999-2000, Southeast's men started OVC play 4-0.

And what a 4-0 it is, after dramatic one-point road victories in Alabama last week.

First it was sophomore guard Jimmy Drew's turn to be a hero as his 3-pointer with 1 second remaining beat Samford 63-62, after Southeast trailed by 14 points in the second half.

Then freshman center Will Bogan took the spotlight as his short put-back with 1.9 seconds left beat Jacksonville State 81-80, after the Redhawks led by 20 points in the first half and trailed by five points with under 4 minutes to play.

So after two fairly dominant home wins to start the conference schedule, over Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech, the Redhawks had to scratch and claw -- and even get a little lucky -- to survive on the road last week.

But during any special season, or even any good season, there are going to be down-to-the-wire games that a squad squeezes out.

Right now, Southeast is 2-0 in that department.

The cynic might say the good fortune is due to run out for the Redhawks, while the optimist might say Southeast is a team of destiny.

At this point, with 16 OVC contests still left to play, it's way too early to tell which side will be right, if there will be a right or wrong side.

But, if you're a Southeast fan, what's the point in even thinking about that right now?

I'd suggest you sit back and enjoy what's going on.

After all, it hasn't happened in quite a while.

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Although the Redhawks had their four-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's 89-51 nonconference loss at Tulsa, the Redhawks enter the Christmas break with a solid 8-5 overall record.

After a few days off, the players will regroup and get ready for Sunday's nonleague home game with Central Methodist, followed by the resumption of OVC play.

The OVC schedule resumes Jan. 2 at home against defending conference tournament champion Eastern Kentucky, which returned many of its key players and was picked second in the league's preseason poll.

That should be quite a way for the Redhawks to put their perfect OVC record on the line, and it will be interesting to see if Southeast fans -- who should be getting excited by now -- will turn out to produce the biggest crowd of the season.

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Southeast still has its flaws, and there's no getting around the fact that the Redhawks' OVC mark could just as easily be 2-2 instead of 4-0.

But Southeast has improved considerably since the start of the season.

Especially impressive has been the Redhawks' depth, not only in the number of players Edgar uses on a daily basis, but also the way different players have stepped up at times.

There was no better example than the Jacksonville State game.

Because of the presence of Calvin Williams and Mike Rembert up front, Bogan has seen his playing time decrease considerably since a fast start.

In fact, he did not see action at Samford after missing some practice time because of his grandfather's death.

But Bogan came up big at Jacksonville State with a team-high 17 points, including the winning basket.

The same goes for sophomore guard Marcus Rhodes, who has seen his playing time vary from game to game.

Rhodes came up big against Jacksonville State with 13 points and seven rebounds.

There was definitely a method to Edgar's madness early in the year as he tried to give most of his players extended court time, knowing he might need any of them at any given time.

That strategy certainly has paid off.

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While Southeast's men are off to a sizzling OVC start, the Southeast women also have righted the ship after suffering through a five-game losing streak, including a home defeat to Tennessee State in their league opener.

The Redhawks have rebounded with three straight wins after sweeping their Alabama road trip in impressive fashion.

Southeast's women (7-5, 3-1) host nonconference opponent Buffalo on Saturday, then resume OVC action Jan. 5 at first-place Eastern Illinois as they continue a stretch that has them playing six of seven league games on the road.

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Cape Girardeau native Randy Carter, who has been a high school coach in the St. Louis area for more than 20 years, recently notched his 400th career win.

Since 1986, Carter has been the coach at Jennings, where he's posted a 387-217 record entering last week.

Carter, a Central graduate, played basketball at Southeast from 1973 to 1976.

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For the first time in a long while, I regretfully will miss this week's Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

I'll be in California all week for a family commitment, but I eagerly will be following the tournament from afar.

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Here's hoping everybody has a wonderful Christmas, and may the New Year bring nothing but prosperity and good fortune to all of you.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.