SEMO men’s basketball wins big in home opener

The SEMO men’s basketball team beat the NAIA Lyon Scots in their home-opener by a score of 83-46 on Nov. 12 at the Show Me Center, out-rebounding the Scots 49-21 and generating 25 turnovers.

The Redhawks struggled from three early in the game, missing their first 15 attempts from beyond the arc.

Sophomore point guard Philip Russel eventually broke SEMO’s cold streak, hitting two three pointers on consecutive possessions.

Despite finishing with 21 points Russel credited solid teamwork for his success.

“It’s not really me it’s my teammates,” Russel said. “Them having trust in me to keep shooting really gave me the confidence.”

Despite a slow start from beyond the arc Southeast utilized an 8-0 start as well as a 15-0 scoring run to increase SEMO’s lead to 32-8 with 3:16 remaining in the first half.

SEMO finished the game shooting 46.5% from the floor and 24.2% from three.

Sophomore forward Kobe Clark showcased his brand of physicality, grabbing 16 rebounds and scoring eight points in the post.

Clark explained his approach to the game was simple yet effective

“I was just doing what the coaches were telling me to and doing what the other team was giving me,” Clark said. “I was playing hard.”

Redhawks coach Brad Korn said the slow offensive start to the game may have been due to SEMO’s season opener in Florida.

“(We were) coming off a huge win on Monday, so when you're coming off a huge win on Monday you’re gonna have a little bit of a lull no disrespect to Lyons College,” Korn said. “I don’t have any worries about that I think we’ll get back on track.”

SEMO will look to build on their 2-0 start at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, they face the Missouri Valley’s Evansville Purple Aces.