Three keys for SEMO men as they get set to host SIUE

Redhawks forward Josh Earley puts up a shot during a loss to SIUE on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

While the 2023-24 campaign hasn’t been kind to the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, they will look to get back on track when they host SIUE at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday.

The Redhawks, currently sitting at 6-12 overall and 1-4 in OVC play, are desperate for wins.

Here are three keys for Southeast as they head into Saturday’s contest.

1. Don’t dig an early hole

This may seem like an obvious one but the Redhawks have a tendency to start games slow and fall into an early hole.

“We come out too flat for maybe the first four minutes,” SEMO senior forward Josh Earley said, “I feel like once we dig that hole, we’re like ‘we’re gonna turn this up,’ but it’s kind of too late. We just need to figure out how to channel all that second half energy into those first four minutes.”

In order for the Redhawks to walk away with a win on Saturday, it will be crucial for them to either play even with the Cougars in the opening minutes or perhaps hold a lead at the first media timeout.

2. Rebounding

Perhaps the biggest key for this Redhawks team will be their ability to get on the boards and outwork the Cougars.

While rebounding hasn’t been a strong suit for Southeast thus far, it’s something that can turnaround and it can turnaround quickly.

“We just need to play harder,” Earley said. “Rebounding is not necessarily a skill set. It’s about who wants it more and I feel like once we get that feeling of we want the ball more, we’re gonna go after that ball and start rebounding.”

In their last game, a 70-59 loss to Tennessee Tech, the Redhawks actually won the rebounding battle 32-22, a promising sign if the Redhawks are able to couple that with a fast start.

3. Limit Shamar Wright

Wright currently leads the Cougars in scoring at 15.5 points per game and he’s doing it on 48% shooting from the field.

While not digging an early hole and rebounding are wildly important, nothing will be more important than limiting the engine that allows the Cougars to go and that is Wright.

Wright is also good at getting to the free throw line as he has shot a team high 81 free throws this season and is shooting 72% from the charity stripe.

For a Redhawks team that has its fair share of foul trouble, containing Wright will be a tall task, but one that will need to be achieved to pick up a win on Saturday afternoon.