Southeast men want momentum for tournament

~ The Redhawks conclude the regular season at Jacksonville State.

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- At first glance, tonight's regular-season finale means a lot more to Jacksonville State than it does to Southeast Missouri State.

That's because Southeast has already locked up a berth in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, while JSU still is fighting for a spot.

But the way the Redhawks (11-18, 9-10) see things, they need to win just as badly as the Gamecocks (8-21, 6-13) when the squads square off at 7:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Ala.

"Our goal is to win two games in a row going into the tournament," senior guard Terrick Willoughby said. "In this league, it's who's playing the best going into the tournament."

The Redhawks broke a three-game losing streak with a 70-67 victory at Samford that clinched a berth in the eight-team conference tournament.

Southeast is in sixth place in the 11-team league, one game ahead of Tennessee State. The Redhawks will be either the sixth or seventh seed for the tournament, depending on what happens to them and the Tigers tonight when the Tigers play at Eastern Kentucky.

The Redhawks will play a first-round tournament game on the road Tuesday night, although they won't know their opponent until all the results from around the league come in tonight.

Southeast will play either Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky or Murray State in the opening round. Those squads are the only ones with a chance to finish either second or third.

If the opponent is Murray, the Redhawks will make the approximately eight-hour bus trip back to Cape Girardeau following tonight's game.

But if the opponent is either Tennessee Tech or Eastern Kentucky -- both a distance of at least five hours from Cape Girardeau -- the Redhawks will remain in Alabama tonight, then bus to either Cookeville, Tenn., or Richmond, Ky., Sunday in preparation for Tuesday's contest.

"It's kind of strange, not knowing whether we'll be coming home or staying on the road a few more days," said Willoughby, the OVC's top 3-point shooter at 44.2 percent after making six of eight and scoring a season-high 20 points against Samford. "But we're ready for whatever happens."

JSU had its OVC tournament destiny in its own hands heading into the final week of the regular season, but Thursday's home loss to Eastern Illinois foiled those plans.

JSU can still make the tournament, but the Gamecocks no longer control their own destiny.

The Gamecocks are tied for ninth spots with Eastern Illinois. Both squads trail eighth-place Morehead State by one game.

Eastern Illinois plays today at Samford, while Morehead finishes at regular-season OVC champion Austin Peay.

In December in Cape Girardeau, junior guard Will Ginn threw in a 3-point shot from just past mid-court at the buzzer as the Gamecocks stunned the Redhawks 70-67.

"We owe them one," Willoughby said.

Courtney Bradley, a 6-foot-5 senior forward who was a first-team all-OVC preseason pick, leads the Gamecocks in scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

"We'll get their best shot, but we got their best shot last time," Willoughby said.