All gas no brakes: Redhawks MBB outlasts Lindenwood 74-58 to win 9th straight

“We're just one more step away from really seeing what we could be on the other side, and it’s those little things that can help us get a lot better.”

Those were the words of Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn on November 17, 2024, inside the Show Me Center. Following an 87-82 loss to Chattanooga, Korn foreshadowed something that SEMO fans are now witnessing, and on Saturday evening, those little things continued to pile up for one of the hottest mid-majors in the nation.

Playing on their home court for the final time this season, the Ohio Valley Conference-leading SEMO Redhawks took down Lindenwood, 74-58.

Last year, the loyal fans who showed up at the Show Me Center became conditioned to finding out different ways to lose. Of wondering if this program could make another serious late-season run in the near future. Of wanting more of what was seen in 2023 when SEMO marched to the NCAA Tournament.

Well, believe it, Cape Girardeau. Your men’s college basketball team is more than legitimate, and these Redhawks are showing no sign of slowing down any time soon.

“Overall, we just continue to just get that 1% better, and I'm not surprised by any of it,” Korn said. “There's special qualities that you have to have within people if you're going to do big things to this point like we've done. And I think all these guys have high character and the right people around them that have allowed them to have success and growth, and we just keep on growing. And that's the most beautiful thing that you want to see as a coach.”

SEMO, littered with shotmakers and quality guard play, had three players who scored in double-figures in the victory. Rob Martin led the way by posting his 14th straight double-digit game behind a game-high 26 points to go along with a game-high eight assists and five rebounds.

“Just confidence in myself and getting reps outside of the basketball game,” Martin said of his recent stardom. “Just believing in myself, my teammates believing in me, and coaches believing in me. I feel like that’s the main thing.”

Junior forward Brendan Terry dropped 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting, while Teddy Washington Jr., who is currently averaging a team-high 14.1 points per game, added 15 and a team-high six rebounds.

Korn’s team, sitting third in the OVC in total defense, made Lindenwood freshman star Jadis Jones — the 2024 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year at New Madrid County Central — frustrated for the better part of the night, holding him to 5-of-11 shooting despite dropping 11 points. The Redhawks locked up Lindenwood to the tune of 3-for-16 from 3-point land in the second half.

In essence, the defense made up for anything the offense lacked.

“I know we've scored the ball really well here lately,” Korn said. “But I think our defense in this stretch has been a really connected unit. We've gotten so much better defensively from where we were at the beginning of the year. So, I think on the defensive side our guys are bought into it.

“Our guys did a fantastic job fighting in the post and then really controlling the ball off as much as we could.”

Martin scored the final six SEMO points of the first half to give the Redhawks a 28-24 lead heading into the locker room. The Redhawks only made one 3-pointer (from Martin) and shot 39% from the field.

After SEMO gained a comfortable lead in the early stages of the second half, Jones hit a layup to cap off an 11-0 Lindenwood spurt, cutting the deficit to 52-51 with nine minutes to go.

But what mattered most was SEMO reverting to form. Martin took it upon himself to land a haymaker after he drilled a long-distance 3 in front of his bench to push the lead to 65-56 with 4:17 remaining. The Lions did not have a formula to stop him and he played to his own style — elusive and smart.

“I think Rob did an excellent, excellent job of controlling tempo there late,” Korn said. “Getting us good-quality shots after that little stretch. And I thought he did a really nice job of not settling.”

The game never got closer to seven from that point on. In the in-state showdown, the Redhawks delivered the tone-setting and final blows. A month after SEMO fell to the Lions for the third consecutive time in the series, the Redhawks extinguished any doubt.

“It was kind of just staying solid," Terry said. "Just get off of that and do what we're supposed to. When we play our brand of basketball, I don't think anyone can really mess with us.”

In the first meeting between these two back in January, SEMO was outrebounded, only shot 30% from 3-point range, and was outscored 38-30 in the paint.

On Saturday, the Redhawks responded from an underwhelming first half by shooting 62.5% from the field and hitting 12-of-16 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

“I just have to tell myself to trust the players and let them play,” Korn said. “I think that's why they thrive and why we're having success, because they feel that and understand that too. So, they want to get out there and just play. We don't need to over-coach at this point. We know exactly what it is. Our guys have been locked in mentally for the last couple of weeks. They know what’s at stake.”

SEMO has now won nine straight — the program’s longest win streak in the NCAA Division I era — and its 14 conference wins are now tied for the second-most in program history. A win over SIUE on Thursday will essentially seal a regular-season conference title, as well.

And with the perimeter defense and depth they possessed on Saturday, there's no reason why they can't make it happen.

“Just keep playing SEMO basketball,” Martin said. “We really have nobody that just separates themselves. We all just stick together and trust one another. I feel like that's the main thing that we just go out there, have fun, compete at a high level, coaches believing in us, and see if the players can make the play. So, that's what we've been doing these last nine games that we’ve won.”

Terry agreed, saying that the success boils down to each man being bought into the same cause.

“When we kind of just buy in, and everyone's bought in, it makes it a lot easier for us as a team,” he said. “I feel like that as a team, especially in this last win streak, we’ve really been more repetitive when it comes to getting to the basketball, getting good shots and just helping each other out. When we're all bought in, we play really well.”

They sure do, and this remarkable stretch has produced Show Me Center roars that the arena has not heard since that emphatic 2023 campaign.

The difference? This season’s squad may just be better.

What’s next?

SEMO returns to the hardwood for a season-ending road stretch beginning with a critical matchup at SIUE (19-9, 12-5) on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The Redhawks defeated the Cougars 80-64 at home on Dec. 21.