Redhawks Magical Season Ends with 75-71 Loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in NCAA First Four – Southeast Missouri State University Athletics

DAYTON, Ohio – scored a game-high 23 points and added a double-double 15 points and 10 assists, as #16 Southeast Missouri (19-17) saw its outstanding 2022-23 season close with a tight 75-71 loss to #16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (24-10) Tuesday in the opening game of the NCAA First Four.
 
TAMCC advances to face #1 Alabama at the NCAA South Regional in Birmingham, Alabama Thursday.
 
The Islanders, the Southland Conference’s top free throw shooting team, outscored SEMO, 27-9, at the charity stripe and that was the difference.
 
SEMO was called for 13 more fouls than TAMCC (31-18) and shot 15 less free throws than the Islanders. Jalen Jackson, who led the Islanders with 22 points, outscored SEMO’s entire team at the free throw line himself. Jackson made 14 free throws to the Redhawks’ nine.
 
Down, 53-43, with 9:47 left to play, the Redhawks relentlessly came back to tie the game at 64-64 when Harris made two free throws with 3:07 remaining.
 
After that, teams exchanged free throws down the stretch. 
 
Three free throws by Jackson pushed TAMCC’s lead to 67-64 at the 2:26 mark before hit two free throw to cut the Islanders’ advantage to one.
 
More free throws helped TAMCC build another three-point cushion (70-67) with 40 seconds before Russell’s driving layup narrowed the Islanders’ margin to 72-71 with 25 ticks later.
 
SEMO had a chance to tie the game with 13 seconds to go, but Russell’s 3-pointer came off the rim and TAMCC finished off its win.
 
TAMCC opened the contest by scoring the first six points before Russell scored SEMO’s first basket on a 3-pointer a little over two minutes in. 
 
A nice dunk by off an assist by Russell cut the Islanders’ lead to one. came off the bench and later knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie things up at 13-13 with 14:07 left in the first half.
 
With just under 10 minutes to play, banked in a shot to give the Redhawks their first lead at 18-17 at the 9:54 mark. 
 
A 9-0 TAMCC run followed and the Islanders pulled ahead, 26-18, with 5:29 to go.
 
Larson then buried his third 3-pointer of the half to make it a three-point ballgame (28-25) with 3:27 remaining before TAMCC headed into the locker room with a 33-27 advantage at the brk.
 
At the half, Larson led the Redhawks with nine points as he snapped a four-game streak of not making a field goal.
 
In his final game as a Redhawk, Harris shot 9-of-20 from the field, knocked down two 3-pointers and added three free throws in 36 minutes. He notched 19 of his points in the second half alone.
 
Russell, who had the second point-assist double-double of his career, scored 12 of his points in the second half.
 
TAMCC outrebounded SEMO, 45-30, and put four players in double figures with Jackson leading the way. The Islanders made 27-of-35 free throws, while the Redhawks made just 9-of-20.
 
SEMO won four games in four days to claim this year’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and get to the NCAA Tournament. The Redhawks were the first OVC team to play in the NCAA First Four since Belmont represented the league there in 2019.
 
, who made his first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach, has been in the NCAA Tournament 11 times between his career as a player and coach. Korn played in three NCAA Tournaments as a player at Southern Illinois and coached in seven as an assistant coach/director of operations prior to this season.
 
The Redhawks won four of their final five games of their magical and historic 2022-23 season.

scored a game-high 23 points andadded a double-double 15 points and 10 assists, as #16 Southeast Missouri (19-17) saw its outstanding 2022-23 season close with a tight 75-71 loss to #16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (24-10) Tuesday in the opening game of the NCAA First Four.TAMCC advances to face #1 Alabama at the NCAA South Regional in Birmingham, Alabama Thursday.The Islanders, the Southland Conference’s top free throw shooting team, outscored SEMO, 27-9, at the charity stripe and that was the difference.SEMO was called for 13 more fouls than TAMCC (31-18) and shot 15 less free throws than the Islanders. Jalen Jackson, who led the Islanders with 22 points, outscored SEMO’s entire team at the free throw line himself. Jackson made 14 free throws to the Redhawks’ nine.Down, 53-43, with 9:47 left to play, the Redhawks relentlessly came back to tie the game at 64-64 when Harris made two free throws with 3:07 remaining.After that, teams exchanged free throws down the stretch.Three free throws by Jackson pushed TAMCC’s lead to 67-64 at the 2:26 mark beforehit two free throw to cut the Islanders’ advantage to one.More free throws helped TAMCC build another three-point cushion (70-67) with 40 seconds before Russell’s driving layup narrowed the Islanders’ margin to 72-71 with 25 ticks later.SEMO had a chance to tie the game with 13 seconds to go, but Russell’s 3-pointer came off the rim and TAMCC finished off its win.TAMCC opened the contest by scoring the first six points before Russell scored SEMO’s first basket on a 3-pointer a little over two minutes in.A nice dunk byoff an assist by Russell cut the Islanders’ lead to one.came off the bench and later knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie things up at 13-13 with 14:07 left in the first half.With just under 10 minutes to play,banked in a shot to give the Redhawks their first lead at 18-17 at the 9:54 mark.A 9-0 TAMCC run followed and the Islanders pulled ahead, 26-18, with 5:29 to go.Larson then buried his third 3-pointer of the half to make it a three-point ballgame (28-25) with 3:27 remaining before TAMCC headed into the locker room with a 33-27 advantage at the brk.At the half, Larson led the Redhawks with nine points as he snapped a four-game streak of not making a field goal.In his final game as a Redhawk, Harris shot 9-of-20 from the field, knocked down two 3-pointers and added three free throws in 36 minutes. He notched 19 of his points in the second half alone.Russell, who had the second point-assist double-double of his career, scored 12 of his points in the second half.TAMCC outrebounded SEMO, 45-30, and put four players in double figures with Jackson leading the way. The Islanders made 27-of-35 free throws, while the Redhawks made just 9-of-20.SEMO won four games in four days to claim this year’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and get to the NCAA Tournament. The Redhawks were the first OVC team to play in the NCAA First Four since Belmont represented the league there in 2019., who made his first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach, has been in the NCAA Tournament 11 times between his career as a player and coach. Korn played in three NCAA Tournaments as a player at Southern Illinois and coached in seven as an assistant coach/director of operations prior to this season.The Redhawks won four of their final five games of their magical and historic 2022-23 season.