Redhawks punch ticket

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Southeast Missouri State made sure it needed no outside help to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The Redhawks, sizzling from the field and hitting all their free throws down the stretch, broke a three-game losing streak Thursday night by beating host Samford 70-67.

"It feels real good to win again," senior guard Terrick Willoughby said.

And, added Willoughby, the Redhawks feel good about locking up a spot in the eight-team conference tournament on their own terms.

As it turned out, Southeast -- even with a loss to Samford -- would have qualified Thursday night by virtue of Morehead State losing at Tennessee State.

But the Redhawks' hot shooting -- they hit 66.7 percent in the second half, when they made nine of 14 3-pointers -- and all-around clutch play rendered Morehead's defeat moot.

"We didn't want to lose this game and maybe lose Saturday [in the regular-season finale at Jacksonville State] and sneak into the tournament," junior guard David Johnson said.

Said Southeast coach Scott Edgar: "It was a great game for us. It's a different game when you make shots."

Southeast (11-18, 9-10) remained in sixth place in the 11-team OVC. The worst the Redhawks can finish is tied for the sixth/seventh spots.

"It's nice to know we won our way into the tournament," Willoughby said. "Now we want to make it two in a row and go into the tournament playing really well."

Willoughby, who entered play as the OVC's second-most accurate 3-point shooter at 41.7 percent, probably moved up to the top spot as he hit a career-high six from beyond the arc, missing on only two attempts.

Willoughby scored a season-high 20 points, 17 in the second half, when he hit his first five 3-pointers before finally missing one.

"Things were clicking tonight, for me and the whole team," Willoughby said.

Also scoring in double figures for the Redhawks were junior forward Brandon Foust (12 points) and Johnson (10).

Freshman point guard Roderick Pearson had nine points and four assists, while senior center Tyrell White scored all of his career-high eight points in the first half.

"We got contributions from a lot of people," Edgar said.

A tight first half, which featured seven ties and five lead changes, ended in a 25-25 deadlock.

But the Redhawks grabbed control at the outset of the second half, taking the lead for good on a Foust 3-pointer just 23 seconds into the period.

Willoughby buried consecutive 3-pointers as the Redhawks surged ahead 41-32 less than five minutes into the half.

Willoughby's 3-pointer with 7:40 remaining gave Southeast the night's biggest advantage at 58-47.

Southeast matched that 11-point margin one more time when Pearson drilled a trey at the 6:50 mark, making it 61-50.

Samford (14-15, 11-8), which suffered its fifth straight loss, pulled to within three points four times down the stretch.

But Southeast, which has struggled with its free-throw shooting in several narrow OVC losses, made all six of its attempts in the final minute to close out the Bulldogs.

Willoughby, Johnson and junior forward Dionte Perry all hit both ends of one-and-one situations toward the end.

"It's a big thing to make free throws like we did tonight," Johnson said.

The Redhawks, who entered the game as the OVC's worst free-throw shooting team at 62.6 percent, hit 13 of 15 from the charity stripe (86.7 percent).

"That was big, especially the ones we made at the end," Edgar said.

The final time Samford cut the deficit to three points came with just eight-tenths of a second remaining. The Redhawks inbounded the ball as time expired.

Southeast improved to 8-0 when it makes at least 10 3-pointers. The Redhawks were 11 of 22 from long distance.

The Redhawks hit 14 of 21 second-half shots and finished the contest 23-of-44 (52.3 percent).

Southeast, statistically one of the nation's worst defensive squads, also had a strong performance in that area, limiting Samford to 40-percent shooting (24 of 60), including 26.7 percent on 3-pointers (eight of 30).

"It feels great to win, and we really owed them," Johnson said.

That was in reference to Southeast's 65-64 loss to Samford on Dec. 19 in Cape Girardeau, as the Bulldogs hit the winning shot with two seconds left.