Martin, Cole Jr. power Redhawks MBB to 78-59 rout over Little Rock in OVC Tournament semifinals

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Once Rob Martin and Troy Cole Jr. helped Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball find its rhythm, Little Rock was in big trouble.

Tough to chase down these Redhawks in 2025.

Martin scored a game-high 21 points and Cole added 17, helping top-seeded SEMO breeze past No. 4 Little Rock 78-59 in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals Friday night at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

The junior tandem led the dominant effort as the Redhawks earned their second consecutive win in their season series against the well-balanced Trojans. Senior TJ Biel finished with 13 points and forward Brendan Terry grabbed eight boards to power SEMO to a narrow 33-31 advantage on the glass; something head coach Brad Korn said was "a huge focus coming in.

"Just really pleased with the overall intensity and physicality we played with on the defensive end," Korn said. "I thought we were a connected group, which puts you in a lot of compromising situations, especially with the way some of those guys can shoot the basketball. We knew they have been, all season long, a little bit short on the bench. So, being able to play ours and develop ours throughout the year, I thought was a big part in this."

The Redhawks (21-11) also turned in a fine shooting performance (50 percent) and held Little Rock to its lowest point total since Feb. 11 when SEMO won 57-45.

The Redhawks led by double digits in the final 25 minutes of the game to rout the Trojans and advance to a championship matchup against either No. 2 SIUE or No. 3 Tennessee State on Saturday.

Deadlocked at 17-17 early in the first half, SEMO broke things open with a commanding 21-5 run that was capped by a vicious Cole fast-break slam dunk at the 3:41 mark. Cole posted a team-high 12 first-half points, while Martin followed right behind with 11.

"I thought our guards did a really, really nice job of controlling the tempo and recognizing it," Korn said. "In times that we didn't, we got a little bit stuck on the ball into the corner, but overall, I thought our guards just really controlled tempo."

SEMO extended its lead to 40-29 at the break, helped by a Washington Jr. made pull-up jumper in the final seconds. The Trojans threatened the Redhawks at a few points down the stretch, but Martin, Cole, and Co. had an answer every time.

Little Rock’s chances for a second straight OVC Tournament finals appearance vanished for good when SEMO led as much as 20 with 2:28 left off a Ward 3-pointer in front of the Redhawk bench.

Cole put on the finishing touches with a late 3-pointer of his own to ignite the loyal and rowdy road SEMO crowd.

"It was just about staying connected," Cole said of the team performance. "Our coach always told us that even when we face adversity and fighting, we've just gotta stay together. So, that's what we do, even in practice."

After dropping a career-high 31 points against SIUE on Feb. 27 in the win that clinched SEMO's regular-season conference title, Martin continued to thrive under the brightest of lights with a game-high in points.

"It just starts with the reps I get in practice, believing in myself, trusting in my work," Martin said. "In the summer, Coach was just trusting in me and my teammates trusted in me. I feel like if I make a mistake, it's 'next play mentality.' And I feel like I'm good for these moments. That was a huge W."

In one of SEMO’s better defensive performances of the season, Redhawk defenders were blocking shots, cutting off drives and practically shutting down the Trojans' offensive flow, leaving them to hurl 3-pointers – unsuccessfully.

Against UT Martin in the quarterfinals, Little Rock shot 11-for-22 from long range. Against SEMO – the nation’s sixth-best 3-point defense – the Trojans only shot 2-of-12.

Korn credited BJ Ward and Teddy Washington Jr. for their strong defensive outings.

"I told the guys in the locker room just now that it doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but I thought BJ Ward and Teddy Washington did a great job of defending and not getting easy looks there," Korn said. "There were some shots that could have gone in, but I think the totality of the way that we played all around was very fine."

SEMO earned its tenth win in 11 games and is gunning for its second OVC tourney title in the past three years Saturday night.

"I look back, especially on the drive over here, at what we did in 2023," Korn said. "It's kind of crazy, four games in four days, and just the amount of time and work that you put into it. But I don't think that we've wavered on the level of the character and the fabric of what our program is going to be from 2020 until now. You can make a lot of excuses in life, so I think when you have that 'North Star' and you believe in yourself, and you've got a great success system around you and good players, you find a way to respond. There were no excuses from last year. It was what it was. We grew up. I grew up. I became better. You face yourself in the mirror every day and give yourself up and go."