The Redhawks men’s basketball team came out with a 99-98 victory against the University of Arkansas Little Rock Trojans on Thursday, Feb. 2 at the Show Me Center.

The contest was close for 40 minutes, with nine ties and 11 lead changes.

“I think we started out a little slow,” senior guard Chris Harris said. “But as the game went on, Phill [Russell] gave us the energy we needed and Adam [Larson] came in and did his thing. I feel like we played pretty well, we just need to end the game better.”

SEMO was anchored by another 30-point performance from sophomore guard Phillip Russell.

“He’s just been a special player for us all season long,” head coach Brad Korn said. “You’ve got a dynamic guard that’s scoring but also leads not just your team, but the conference in assists. That’s a high-level player.”

Russell finished the contest with 37 points and 10 assists.

Junior post Josh Earley also was an impact maker against the Trojans. Earley finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Guards Chris Harris and Dylan Branson also finished the contest with double digits.

“Our halftime speech got us going,” sophomore guard Adam Larson said. “We knew we had to pick it up.”

With this win, the Redhawks are still in a tie for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), but now just a two-way tie with Morehead State University.

SEMO will be back in action against the Tennessee Tech University Golden Eagles. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee.