Redhawk hoops rolled on the road in 2023-24 opener

One game does not a season make, so despite the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball squad getting beat 87-66 in its season-opening game on Monday at Grand Canyon, fourth-year Redhawk coach Brad Korn felt there were positive aspects for his team to build upon.

“I was encouraged with how we played the second half,” Korn said of his team outscoring the Antelopes by three points. “But it was a tale of two halves.”

Korn had said during the preseason that this group would be an improvement defensively over last year’s squad, but that wasn’t apparent in the opening half, as Grand Canyon (1-0) shot 50 percent from the field and led by as many as 27 points before taking a 54-30 lead into the break.

The Redhawks (0-1) struggled to guard the Antelopes’ perimeter players off the bounce, and Grand Canyon center Duke Brennan inside, as the 6-foot-10 athlete made 5 of his 6 shots en route to 12 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes.

While Brennan was hot early, reserve center Sydney Curry dominated the SEMO interior defenders late. The Indiana native totaled eight points and nine rebounds in just 17 minutes.

“We didn’t have (SEMO center) Mason Hanback,” Korn said of his reserve center, “so that hurt our depth when (post players) Josh Earley and David Idada got in early foul trouble.”

Hanback (knee) and starting guard Dylan Branson (foot) each sat out with injuries on Monday.

The Redhawk defense also struggled to contain Antelope athlete Tyon Grant-Foster, whom Korn was very familiar with.

The Kansas City native, whom Korn had recruited hard when he was an assistant coach at Kansas State, finished with 30 points.

SEMO trailed by as many as 29 points in the second half, but overall, it did shoot the ball well from 3-point range.

The Redhawks sank 11 of 21 long shots, three of which came from redshirt sophomore Adam Larson, who led his team with 13 points.

Larson also grabbed five rebounds while Earley finished with 10 points and wings TJ Biel and Braxton Stacker each had eight points in their Redhawk debuts.

SEMO was outrebounded 48-32 and had 17 turnovers, five from junior guard Aquan Smart.

“We had way too many turnovers,” Korn said. “You can’t have that many.”

Junior forward Kobe Clark, who has battled back from a very severe knee injury suffered in January, played with a large brace on his left leg, yet still managed to score seven points and grab eight rebounds.

Freshman guard BJ Ward dished out five assists and didn’t turn the ball over at all in his collegiate debut while scoring seven points.

The Redhawks will return to the Midwest on Friday, where they will face Big East program Butler (7:30 p.m., FS2).

SEMO will open its home season on Nov. 15 at the Show Me Center against Evansville (6:30 p.m., ESPN+).