Men will attempt to end Tech's spell on the road

~ Southeast has lost nine straight to the Eagles, who are 12-1 at home.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Challenges probably don't get much bigger than what Southeast Missouri State faces tonight in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

But first-year Southeast coach Scott Edgar points out that with challenges come opportunity, and the Redhawks hope to capitalize when they square off with host Tennessee Tech in a 7 p.m. tipoff.

"It's a huge challenge for us, but it's also a tremendous opportunity," Edgar said. "I know our guys are looking forward to the opportunity of playing in the OVC tournament.

"As everything has been this year, this is a new experience for basically the entire program."

Only two Southeast players -- senior guard Terrick Willoughby and junior guard Paul Paradoski -- have participated in an OVC tournament game.

Willoughby was a sophomore and Paradoski a freshman on the last Southeast squad to qualify for the eight-team conference tournament.

The 2004-2005 Redhawks won their first-round game -- also on the road, against Murray State -- before being eliminated in the semifinals in Nashville, Tenn. Southeast had missed out on the tournament two of the three years prior to this season.

"It's a lot of fun to play in the tournament," said Willoughby, who leads the OVC in 3-point field-goal accuracy at 45 percent. "You can pretty much throw out what happened during the regular season and start off like it's a new season."

As for the challenging part of tonight's contest -- where to begin for the sixth-seeded Redhawks (11-19, 9-11), who will try to succeed in a place where they have rarely tasted victory?

Third-seeded Tech (18-12, 13-7), which finished tied for second place in the 11-team OVC, has not lost to Southeast at the Eblen Center since the 1999-2000 season -- the year Southeast won its only OVC title and made its only NCAA Division I tournament appearance.

The Eagles own seven consecutive home wins over the Redhawks. Overall, Tech has beaten Southeast nine straight times.

But it's not that the Eagles are tough only at home against Southeast. Tech is 12-1 at the Eblen Center this season, including 9-1 in conference play. The Eagles have posted nine straight OVC home victories since being upset by Eastern Illinois in their league opener.

Throw in the fact that many people regard Tech as the OVC's most talented team and the challenges for the Redhawks are obviously numerous.

"They are not only a very talented team -- I think the most talented in the league -- but they are very good on their home court," Edgar said.

Tech is led by three of the OVC's premier players in 6-foot-4 senior guard Belton Rivers, 6-2 junior guard Anthony Fisher and 6-7 junior forward Amadi McKenzie.

Rivers is the OVC's leading scorer with an average of 18 points per game, Fisher ranks third at 17.3, and McKenzie is eighth at 14.1.

McKenzie is the OVC's top rebounder with a 7.9 average, and he also leads the conference in field-goal shooting at 60.5 percent.

Rivers is second in the league in 3-pointers made, having hit 88 of 242 (36.4 percent). Fisher is 61 of 176 from beyond the arc (34.7 percent).

"When you look at the all-conference voting, I think you'll see three of their players in the top 10," Edgar said. "They have as good a guard combination for this level as there is in the country."

The Eagles' talented trio did plenty of damage to Southeast in the teams' two regular-season meetings. Rivers scored 52 points, Fisher had 41 and McKenzie added 32.

But the Redhawks gave Tech trouble in both games.

Southeast led 42-39 at halftime Dec. 9 in Cookeville, Tenn., before Tech exploded in the second half for a 91-76 victory.

On Jan. 20 in Cape Girardeau, the Redhawks built an 18-point lead late in the first half and were still ahead 46-34 at the break. But again the Eagles rallied to win 87-80.

"We've shown we can play with them," Paradoski said. "Now we just have to be able to finish."

The explosive Eagles lead the OVC in scoring at 75.4 points per game, with the Redhawks third at 69.8.

But in conference play only, Southeast ranks first at 74.5 points a contest, followed by Tech at 73.8.

Tech is the league's best rebounding team at plus 3.6 per game.

"We have to be able to withstand their runs, shorten their periods of momentum," Edgar said. "We have to hit shots, and we have to rebound with group effort."

Tonight's winner advances to Friday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal in Nashville, Tenn., against either second-seeded Eastern Kentucky or seventh-seeded Morehead State. The championship game is set for Saturday.

"We're underdogs, but a lot of crazy stuff has happened over the years in the OVC tournament," Edgar said. "I told the guys that this is a new season. We're three games away from playing in the NCAA tournament.

"It's a great opportunity for us. We'll give it our best shot and see what happens."