Redhawks build winning streak down stretch

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team just might be peaking at the crucial point of the season.

The Redhawks turned in their third straight impressive performance and finally notched their first Ohio Valley Conference road victory of the season with a 96-74 rout of Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.

Southeast is riding a much-needed three-game winning streak. That came on the heels of a stretch where the Redhawks lost seven of eight, which had them potentially missing the eight-team OVC tournament.

Now the Redhawks (14-13, 6-7) look like a virtual lock for the tournament. Their surge has them in the running for as high as a No. 5 seed.

The Redhawks, in sole possession of second place in the OVC West Division, are sixth in the 12-team league among squads eligible for the conference tournament. They trail fifth-place Morehead State by just one game.

Southeast has shot the lights out recently while playing strong defense, but it still has plenty of challenges ahead.

The Redhawks play the second of four consecutive conference road games to end the regular season Wednesday at Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks are having a solid year but are not eligible for the OVC tournament due to academic sanctions.

Southeast's other two league contests are at Austin Peay, which has struggled most of the campaign but has won two straight, and Murray State. The Redhawks haven't won at Austin Peay in forever, while Murray State is the West Division leader and three-time defending OVC regular-season champion.

That's a rugged finishing kick, but at least the Redhawks' recent play offers hope that they have a chance to continue their surge.

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It's hard to believe, but Southeast's men and women each only have one more home game left -- annual senior night contests.

The men play Ball State on Saturday in their BracketBusters matchup. Seniors recognized before the 5:30 p.m. tip will be Marland Smith, Nick Niemczyk and Corey Wilford.

The women face OVC opponent Tennessee Tech on Feb. 25. Seniors recognized before the 6:30 p.m. tip will be Brittany Harriel, Bailie Roberts, Courtney Shiffer and Katie Norman, whose Southeast career ended before the season because of lingering back problems.

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Thursday was an interesting night around the OVC in men's basketball as both division leaders suffered losses on the road.

Especially surprising was Murray State's 65-60 setback at SIU Edwardsville, which pulled off its biggest win as a Division I program despite not having its leading scorer.

SIUE coach Lennox Forrester announced the suspension of senior forward Jerome Jones for the remainder of the season before the game, meaning his college career is over. According to the Associated Press, Forrester said Jones has not met the expectations and standards the coach has for the team.

Jones' suspension could be a factor for Southeast because there is a chance the squads could meet in the opening round of the OVC tournament.

Not quite as surprising was Tennessee State's 80-69 victory over East Division leader Belmont.

Then another shocker took place as Murray State lost again -- this time at Eastern Illinois 79-70 -- Saturday.

Murray State still is running away with the West Division title and has clinched at least the No. 2 seed for the OVC tournament, while Belmont is still in first place in the East Division.

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The Southeast baseball team got its season off to a great start by sweeping a three-game series at New Orleans over the weekend.

Now the Redhawks will gear up for nine consecutive home games -- weather permitting -- beginning Tuesday when NAIA Harris-Stowe from St. Louis visits Capaha Field for a 3 p.m. first pitch.

Southeast has four other home dates this week: Wednesday against Mid-Continent, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday when North Dakota State visits.

The Redhawks will be looking for revenge against Mid-Continent, an NAIA squad from Mayfield, Ky., that upset Southeast 10-9 last year in Cape Girardeau.

There has still been no word from the NCAA regarding the eligibility of Southeast junior first baseman Matt Tellor, a touted transfer from Lindenwood University. It's got to be extremely frustrating for everybody involved, especially Tellor.

Lindenwood, which is transitioning to Division II, expected to be eligible for postseason play this year, but that turned out to not be the case and players in the program were allowed to transfer.

Transfers normally have to sit out a year, but Southeast was under the assumption that would not apply with Tellor. However, the NCAA deemed otherwise and Southeast appealed.

Tellor was named the Prospect League player of the year and co-top prospect during the summer, when the 6-foot-5, 210-pound switch-hitter batted .341 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs in the collegiate wood-bat league.

Tellor still will have two years of eligibility left if he can't play this season, but the Redhawks were counting on his bat this year after they lost most of their top offensive performers from 2012.

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Southeast lost one of its all-time football greats Friday when Kenneth Dement passed away at age 80. He had been a 12-year resident of the Missouri Veteran's Home in Cape Girardeau.

Dement, a two-way tackle at Southeast from 1951 through 1954, earned All-American honors and is the university's only member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

I didn't know Dement well but I would see him occasionally at the Veteran's Home while visiting a friend. He always greeted me with a handshake and a warm smile.

By all accounts Dement was as fine a man as he was a football player. My condolences go out to his family.

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Five OVC football players have received invitations to the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine that will be held in Indianapolis beginning Wednesday.

The players are Eastern Kentucky wide receiver Tyrone Goard, Jacksonville State wide receiver Alan Bonner, Tennessee State offensive lineman Rogers Gaines, Tennessee Tech wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers and UT Martin defensive lineman Montori Hughes.

Overall there are 24 players from Football Championship Subdivision programs out of the roughly 340 players that will be evaluated by all 32 NFL teams.

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The high school basketball season heats up big-time this week as Classes 1 through 3 hold their district tournaments, several of which got began Saturday with opening-round games. Classes 4 and 5 play their districts next week.

There should be plenty of interesting districts. I'm especially intrigued by two on the boys side.

Class 1 District 2 at Scott County Central is where Leopold will be favored to win the school's first district championship in boys hoops.

The host Braves, four-time defending state champions, have had one of their rougher seasons in years but can't be counted out. The same goes for Oak Ridge, seeded ahead of SCC at No. 2. Those squads will meet in the semifinals Tuesday.

Class 2 District 3 at Bismarck is where rivals Oran and Advance will be favored to meet for the district title for the third straight season.

Oran won the last two district final matchups and beat the Hornets in two of three meeting this regular season -- including a stunning 69-34 romp just last week.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.