SEMO's magical postseason ends in Dayton

DAYTON, OHIO - A late comeback was not enough as the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks fell 75-71 to the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders on Tuesday, March 14, at UD Arena.

Free throws dictated the game. The Islanders made 27-of-35 from the charity stripe, while SEMO went to the line for 20 shots but only made nine.

“I thought our effort today was a prime example of how these guys have been all season long,” Redhawks coach Brad Korn said. “Free throws and rebounding cost us the opportunity, but when I look at Chris Harris, Phillip Russell and the rest of the guys on the team and what they were able to do for this program and university to play on this stage, it’s a pretty remarkable end to the season.”

The Islanders opened the game on a 6-0 run. Adam Larson hit a three-pointer with 3:28 remaining in the first half to pull the Redhawks within three points, 28-25. The Islanders created further separation, but a tip-in by Branson had SEMO enter halftime down 33-27.

The Redhawks were led by Chris Harris who had 23 points in the loss. Also contributing were Phillip Russell with 15 points, Larson with nine points, Dylan Branson with eight points and Nate Johnson with seven points.

Harris was key in orchestrating a run that tied the game at 64 after the Redhawks trailed by nine in the 2nd half. A late push helped propel SEMO to within 1 point with 15 seconds left in the game.

“We were down 10 in the second half and these guys continued to fight and claw and make timely shots,” Korn said. “(We) put ourselves in a position to win the game.”

Harris credited the way the Islanders denied him and Russell off the ball.

“We had to figure out ways around that,” Harris said. “But, honestly I think it comes down to us and what we can do, and I don’t think we went out and executed like we can execute for a full 40 minutes.”

Russell echoed Harris’ thoughts and felt the Redhawks could have played better.

“It was all on us,” Russell said. “They denied us hard, but we’ve seen it all year. I really feel like we just beat ourselves.”

The Redhawks finished the season at 19-17. It was their first winning season since 2013-14 and the progeram's first trip back to the NCAA Tournament in 23 years.

Korn emphasized the importance of building off this season as the Redhawks head into 2023-24.

“I think it gives us the energy we need as we move forward,” Korn said. “We get to design a ring, we get to hang a banner and now everything that we do moving forward is going to be centered around that. Moving forward there’s a standard now and a level that we have to get to every single day in everything that we do in order to have this feeling and come back again.”

The Islanders advance to take on the tournament’s top overall seed Alabama on Thursday, March 16, in Birmingham, Alabama.