SEMO MBB fouls way to OVC road L

There was no shortage of statistical areas to explain how Southeast Missouri State dropped its ninth men’s basketball game in the past 10 outings on Thursday.

The Redhawks fell at UT Martin 87-82 after committing 26 fouls and being outshot at the free throw line 38-15.

“We couldn’t keep them off of the free throw line,” third-year SEMO coach Brad Korn said in a postgame interview, “and we couldn’t keep them out of the paint.”

SEMO (6-10, 1-2 Ohio Valley Conference) outshot the Skyhawks 13-5 from 3-point range and made four more baskets (30-26), but the free-throw line discrepancy was too much to overcome.

“We just got dominated in the paint again,” Korn said.

SEMO senior center Nate Johnson had a solid game in scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds in 21 minutes, but backup center Josh Earley injured an ankle and was limited to just five minutes of time, while forward Kobe Clark was benched for the initial 23 minutes of the game due to a “coach’s decision,” according to Korn.

UT Martin (10-6, 2-1) aggressively drove the ball right at the Redhawks, as the hosts went on runs of 9-0 and 18-6 in the opening half.

“We put ourselves in holes to start games,” Korn lamented. “We didn’t have the right pop or the right energy.”

By the time SEMO got “the right pop” in the second half, it was a tad too late, but only barely.

With 8:51 left in the game, the Skyhawks scored to stretch their advantage to 72-53, but Redhawks Chris Harris and Phillip Russell scored seven consecutive points to breathe life into the visitors.

Harris hit a 3-pointer with 3:41 on the clock, which cut the SEMO deficit to 79-73, and when Russell sank a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, SEMO was down just two points (84-82).

“We had really nice possessions,” Korn said. “We had 16 assists and (only) seven turnovers. If you would have told me that before the game, I would have taken it.”

Following Russell’s basket, UT Martin was fouled a couple of times, and made three free throws, while SEMO had one last opportunity to pull to within one point with 12 seconds remaining, but Clark’s 3-pointer missed badly.

“You give 30 points on the foul line,” Korn said. “You have three guys get 23 points from the foul line, it’s hard to win on the road that way.”

Russell scored 20 of his team-high 28 points in the second half and also totaled four assists and four steals.

Harris (12 points, four assists), Israel Barnes (14 points), and Clark (10 rebounds) also contributed.

SEMO will travel to Little Rock (5-11, 1-2) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.