Redhawks eyeing big home win when they welcome Western Illinois

SEMO men's head coach Brad Korn looks on during a recent home game at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Clay Herrell ~ cherrell@semoball.com

For the second time in a month, the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks will square off with the Western Illinois Leathernecks.

The two teams met on Jan. 4 in Macomb, Ill. where the Leathernecks emerged victorious with a 68-61 win over the Redhawks.

Southeast enters this matchup now 7-15 overall and 2-7 on Ohio Valley Conference play.

For the Leathernecks, they currently sit at 13-8 overall and 6-2 in OVC play.

When the two clubs met at the beginning of January, the Redhawks were led by Josh Earley who poured in 18 points and Rob Martin, who scored 13 points in the loss.

Perhaps the biggest issue in the January loss for Southeast was the rebounding and free throw shooting,

The Redhawks were out rebounded 50-33 and they shot just 4-for-11 from the free throw line.

If SEMO wants to get a different result on Saturday, they will need to clean up the rebounding and they will need to shoot the ball better.

The other issue that plagued the Redhawks was their shooting as a whole, as they shot just 26-for-62 from the floor.

The good news for Redhawks fans however is they have played well at home, as they are 7-3 at the Show Me Center.

In order to continue the home cooking, the Redhawks will need to limit Ryan Myers, who currently leads the Leathernecks, scoring 13.5 points per game.

When the two teams met in January, Myers poured in 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting in the win.

Western Illinois has also proven to be up to the challenge of road games in OVC play as the Leathernecks are 4-1 in road conference play.

The keys to a win for SEMO lie in their ability to rebound and their ability to limit Myers on the defensive end.

Tip-off between the Redhawks and Leathernecks is set for 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Show Me Center.