SEMO men’s squad holds on, earns huge conference win at Tennessee Tech 77-70

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball needed a “get-back” game.

Head coach Brad Korn’s squad made sure it got one.

After nearly blowing a 21-point halftime lead, SEMO used late clutch shooting and perseverance to escape with a 77-70 victory over Tennessee Tech on Thursday night.

The triumph marks the Redhawks’ first win in the Eblen Center since Jan. 18, 2014.

“Just great resiliency by the guys,” Korn told SEMO ESPN Radio’s Erik Sean during the postgame interview. “We played so well in the first half for 20 straight minutes and it kind of was like, ‘Man, I wish this wasn't halftime and we could just keep the momentum,’ just because we were playing so well on both sides of the ball.”

Teddy Washington Jr. got back on track with a team-high 17 points, while Rob Martin and Braxton Stacker added 13 apiece to drive the Redhawks to a much-needed conference victory.

Senior TJ Biel also stepped up by posting six rebounds to go along with six points.

“I thought the guys just did a great job,” Korn said. “I mean, it was Rob and BJ in the first half. Teddy, I think only had five points and then, in the second half, he made some big-time plays for us.”

Despite having a lackluster start against Little Rock in the loss Tuesday, SEMO (10-9, 5-3 Ohio Valley Conference) came out firing on all cylinders and zipped to a 19-point lead with 2:30 left in the first half off a Martin jumper. Stacker capped a marvelous first half with a smooth rolling layup at the buzzer to make it 47-26.

With that, the Redhawks built a whopping 21-point lead at the break behind 60% shooting from the field and flawless shotmaking from the foul line (7 of 7). SEMO was also very active on the defensive end, forcing six steals and holding Tennessee Tech (9-9, 4-3 OVC) to a 40% clip from the field.

The Golden Eagles then controlled the pace early in the second half, rattling off a furious 26-10 run, while taking advantage of SEMO’s sluggish 22% shooting through the first 11 minutes.

Tennessee Tech cut the deficit to as little as two following a Matthew Sells 3-pointer with eight minutes to go. That’s until SEMO, which shot just 1 of 6 from long range to open the frame, got a much-needed 3-pointer from Martin to help spark a 9-0 run, which quenched a four-minute scoring drought and pushed the lead to 64-57.

Another Sells’ 3-pointer got Tennessee Tech within 70-64, but Stacker stepped into his role in a big way and sank a dagger straight-away 3 in the final minute to seal it.

“This group has been pretty resilient all year long,” Korn said. “As far as when things don't go their way, they come back and that speaks to their character.

“You lose your character when you lose and these guys didn't, and it showed today in the way that they played. That's why you're able to hang on and win a tough road game.”

The SEMO victory handed the Golden Eagles their first home loss of the season. The Redhawks also dodged a third consecutive loss and improved to 3-6 on the road.

Jaylon Johnson was the star for Tennessee Tech after finishing with a game-high 21 points, while teammate Ola Ajiboye bowed out with 13.

Big picture

The ability of every player Korn put on the floor to move the ball around — 13 assists for the team — and the selfless scoring were two big reasons SEMO clicked. The balanced offense stepped up with five players scoring nine points or more and the team cashed in at the foul line, shooting 88% (14 of 16).

The other differentiator for the Redhawks was being more physical on the glass. After being outplayed at the rim against Morehead State and Little Rock in the previous two games, SEMO responded by outrebounding the OVC’s second-best rebounding team 33 to 29.

Washington Jr.'s big game was another encouraging sign, as the senior was averaging just 8.6 points the past three games despite starting out as one of the conference's leading scorers.

The question is, can SEMO carry this through the rest of conference play?

What’s next?

SEMO gets a week off before traveling to St. Charles for a date with rival Lindenwood (8-10, 3-4) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23.

“It's more mental than anything at this point the season,” Korn said. “I think it's good timing for our guys because we do need a little bit of a break."