Redhawks try to end six-game skid vs. AP

[IE]

The Governors continue to rule the OVC with a 9-2 mark.

Three times over the past two seasons, Southeast Missouri State has come agonizingly close to beating the Ohio Valley Conference's top men's basketball team.

The Redhawks hope to finally get over the hump tonight, and in the process end their six-game losing streak.

Southeast will have its second straight nationally televised contest when Austin Peay visits the Show Me Center for a 6 p.m. tipoff. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

"I think we owe them," sophomore point guard Roderick Pearson said.

Austin Peay (13-8, 9-2), the defending OVC regular-season champion, again sits at the top of the standings just past the midway point of the conference schedule.

Maybe no squad has given the Governors more trouble than Southeast since last season started -- except the Redhawks have nothing to show for their efforts.

Austin Peay won last year's two meetings by a combined three points, 68-67 in Cape Girardeau and 75-73 in Clarksville, Tenn.

Southeast's trend against the Govs continued this season when, on Jan. 12 in Clarksville, Austin Peay squeezed out an 85-82 win.

"Hopefully this is our time," Southeast coach Scott Edgar said. "We've had some great games with them."

The Redhawks (11-11, 6-6) desperately need to start stringing some wins together as they have fallen into a four-way tie for sixth place in the 11-team OVC.

Only the top eight finishers make the conference tournament, with the top four earning first-round home games. Southeast is just a game out of third place.

"We're fighting for some spots. ... Everybody [in the OVC] is fighting for some spots," Edgar said.

Edgar and his players are encouraged by the way Southeast performed Saturday at Murray State.

Even though the Redhawks suffered their sixth consecutive loss, 86-85, they had one of their better overall games of the season in the contest televised by ESPN2.

"I think we can build on it," said junior wing Jaycen Herring, Southeast's leading scorer at 12.9 points per game.

So does Edgar, who wasn't able to witness Saturday's contest in person. He served a one-game OVC suspension for criticizing the officials following Thursday's loss to Morehead State. Edgar liked what he saw on TV.

"I was really impressed. I saw a lot of great things. I thought they put on a tremendous performance," Edgar said. "For the most part we outplayed the hottest team in the league on their floor.

"I told them I could not have been any prouder even if they had won the game."

Southeast's earlier meeting against Austin Peay was marked by senior forward Brandon Foust suffering a season-ending knee injury midway through the second half.

The Redhawks have struggled without their top all-around player, and lately they have also been without sophomore guard Jimmy Drew, their leading 3-point shooter who has a stress fracture in his foot. Drew will miss tonight's game and likely will be out a few more games.

Austin Peay is coming off just its second conference loss of the season as the Govs were routed at Samford 63-49 on Saturday.

The Govs trailed 39-20 at halftime and never got closer than 11 points in the second half as they shot a season-low 30.8 percent.

The Govs are a veteran and versatile squad, with a strong inside game and solid outside shooters. They returned all five starters from last year's title team.

"They're seasoned, they've got excellent chemistry," Edgar said. "They're good."

Austin Peay leads Murray State by just one game in the OVC standings.

"Every game is a championship game for them, and every game is a championship game for us," Edgar said. "We're fighting with a lot of teams for the top four spots [in the OVC]."

Noteworthy

* Southeast is billing tonight's game as "Red Out Night," with all fans urged to wear red.

 

[IE]

Govs expect tough game
SEMO almost beat APSU in first game




The last time Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri hooked up, first place was on the line.

Things have changed a lot since a 85-82 win by the Govs at the Dunn Center on Jan. 12.



Since then, Austin Peay (13-8, 9-2 OVC) has remained in first place by a game over Murray State, and has won three of its last four. Southeast Missouri (11-11, 6-6 OVC) has dropped into a four-way tie for fifth place, has lost its last four since losing to Austin Peay, and is in a six-game losing streak overall.

In their first meeting with Southeast Missouri the Govs didn't have the game in hand until Todd Babington hit a 3-pointer, and D.J. Wright sank a 3 and a jumper to seal it.

That's why the Govs expect another tough game when the two meet today at 6 p.m. at the Show Me Center, a game that will be televised on ESPNU. The Govs have won the last five in the series and lead 24-14.

"They're really talented. They're very deep, and they play an up-and-down system," Austin Peay coach Dave Loos said. "They're going to really run the ball, fastbreak and attack you, so you can never rest against them. Whether you make or miss on our offense, you better get back because they're going to be running it right up behind you to try to score again.

"So it's a very different pace game from what we played Saturday night. It's going to be totally different."

The Govs fell to Samford 63-49 on Saturday, their second loss in 11 games, while SEMO lost to Murray State 86-85.

Austin Peay suffered its worst shooting performance in conference play hitting 14-of-42 (33.3 percent).

"Hopefully, we've learned from that," Loos said. "We've got to do a little better offensively. You can't even begin to think about winning scoring 14 field goals. We've got to do better."

Southeast Missouri will be without senior forward Brandon Foust, who injured his knee in the first meeting and is out for the season.

But the Redhawks have plenty of talent with 6-foot-5 junior forward Jaycen Herring, the older brother of Lady Govs freshman Ashley Herring, averaging 12.9 points. Also a force on the court is 6-2 sophomore guard Roderick Peterson (10.4 ppg), and 6-10, 300-pound freshman center Will Bogan, who scored a team-high 17 points against the Govs.

"He's (Bogan) a force in there, he is," Loos said. "He's a wide body and has a real presence in there. We were able to make that a mismatch on our offensive end, so we'll have to do that again and make him guard us, and hopefully he'll collect some fouls."

Bogan was saddled with foul trouble in the first meeting, and part of it was because of the play of Govs forwards Drake Reed and Fernandez Lockett, each scored 23 points and combined to shot 17-of-27. Against Samford, the duo was held to a combined nine points, and shot a combined 3-of-11.

"It was a little harder Saturday night because of their (Samford's) matchup and their defense," Loos said. "After watching the film, they did a good job of sealing our post men and we just weren't looking in there. We have a rule. When you catch the ball you look for your shot, and you know before you catch it if you have a shot or not, and then it's dump and look into the post and then reverse.

"We were skipping the second rule. We're skipping the dump and weren't looking in there hard enough and getting it inside so we could play inside-out."

While the loss to Samford (9-11, 6-6 fifth OVC) was unsettling, the Govs take pride in their first-place standing. But they'll be tested with games at home against Murray State (12-7, 8-3 second OVC) Thursday and Tennessee State (9-11, 6-5 fourth OVC) Saturday.

"We knew they (Samford) could play, but each loss is magnified when you only have a couple," Loos said. "Murray only has three (loses) and we know they're back there, too. But this is a big week for us. We know we have a chance to do something about it."

And like Samford, Southeast is trying to do its best to keep pace with the league leaders, and stay in the hunt for a home game in the OVC Tournament.

"This is the time where everyone is starting to really jockey for position and make sure you get a home game," Loos said.

"The games are precious now and each one is going to be magnified and look more important."