Redhawks dominate Little Rock, advance to OVC Championship

No. 1 seed Southeast Missouri (21-11) cruised past No. 4 Little Rock (19-14) with a commanding 78-59 victory Friday night in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

With the win, SEMO secured its fourth OVC Tournament championship appearance in program history and its second in three years under head coach Brad Korn.

The Redhawks controlled the game from start to finish, leading for all but 33 seconds in their first-ever OVC Tournament matchup against the Trojans.

Down 17-16 early, SEMO erupted for a 22-5 run to seize control. Troy Cole Jr. ignited the surge with two free throws before Rob Martin followed with back-to-back jumpers. Cole Jr. added a layup, then delivered a steal and breakaway dunk to push the lead to double digits at 30-20. His hot streak continued with a 3-pointer and another dunk off a steal by Teddy Washington Jr., extending SEMO’s advantage to 38-22 with 3:41 left in the first half.

Little Rock cut the deficit to nine, but Washington Jr. knocked down a turnaround jumper with three seconds remaining to send the Redhawks into halftime up 40-29. SEMO shot 51.9% (14-of-27) from the field in the first half and capitalized on transition opportunities, scoring 15 fast break points.

The Trojans made a brief push early in the second half, closing the gap to 46-38 with 14:13 to play. However, SEMO quickly responded. TJ Biel’s driving layup sparked another Redhawk surge, followed by his 3-pointer and two free throws in a span of 16 seconds to extend the lead to 64-47 with just over seven minutes remaining.

SEMO put the game out of reach with a 12-2 run late in the second half, with Washington Jr. sinking a free throw to give the Redhawks their largest lead of the night at 70-48.

Martin led all scorers with 21 points, marking his 17th consecutive game in double figures and his first 20-point performance in an OVC Tournament start. He finished 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Cole Jr. followed with a career-high 17 points, while Biel contributed a season-best 13 off the bench. SEMO knocked down eight 3-pointers and dominated from beyond the arc, outscoring Little Rock 24-6 from deep. The Redhawks also edged the Trojans on the glass, 33-30, in a physical contest that featured 45 combined fouls.

The 19-point margin of victory marked SEMO’s largest ever in an OVC Tournament semifinal.

The Redhawks will face the winner of No. 3 Tennessee State and No. 2 SIU Edwardsville in the OVC Tournament Championship on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT. The game will air live on ESPN2.