The Southeast men’s basketball team suffered another Ohio Valley Conference loss falling to Jacksonville State 81-64 on Feb. 9.

The Redhawks got off to a slow start against the Gamecocks, falling behind 16-7 within the first six minutes.

Southeast pulled within three points in the first half, but Jacksonville State answered back with a 14-2 run, sending the Redhawks into halftime with a 42-28 deficit.

After the break, the Redhawks started the second half on a 6-0 run over the opening 1:34 of the second half, trimming the deficit to single digits and forcing Jacksonville State to take a timeout to regroup.

Freshman guard Nygal Russell excited the crowd with a 3-pointer at the 14:35 mark, pushing the Redhawks to get as close as eight points.

Jacksonville State (17-8 overall, 9-3 OVC) eventually pulled away for the victory by 17 points.

Southeast freshman forward Gabe McGlothan earned his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“I think there’s a lot of potential in the way that we play,” McGlothan said. “We are a young team, and I think as we learn to grow and we keep having that competitiveness and our ability to be able to come and fight back it will pay off.”

“It’s a learning experience for our guys, but we have got to be consistent on a mental and physical toughness level if you want to be successful,” Southeast coach Rick Ray said.

Other double-digit scorers were sophomore guard Ledarrius Brewer, who netted 11 points, and freshman guard Alex Caldwell, with 10 points off the bench. Sophomore forward Isaiah Gable pulled seven rebounds for the Redhawks.

“This game is a loss, but I think that when you lose you can learn a lot from it; when you fail you can learn,” McGlothan said. “That’s the great thing, even though it comes in the harshest of ways.”

Southeast (8-17 overall, 3-9 OVC) will go back on the road next week to face, the University of Tennessee-Martin Feb. 14 in Martin, Tennessee, and Eastern Illinois on Feb. 16 in Charleston, Illinois.