Southeast basketball teams prepare for OVC tournament

Entering the final month of the regular season, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are in a position to make the Ohio Valley Conference tournament this year.

The men’s team is looking to return to the conference tournament since they last made it during the 2014-2015 season under former head coach Dickey Nutt. The Redhawks had the eighth and final seed that year and lost in the first round to Morehead State.

The women’s team and head coach Rekha Patterson look to return to the conference tournament after making it last season as the sixth seed. The team lost in overtime in the first round to SIU-Edwardsville.

Junior guard Hannah Noe gives junior guard Deja Jones a high five during a timeout on Saturday.Photo by Riley Hayes

This season, both teams are dealing with numerous injuries. On the men’s side, senior forward Trey Kellum and senior guard Jamaal Calvin have missed multiple games, and senior forward Joel Angus III has been unable to play at all.

“Our team has been through alot with the injuries,” coach Rick Ray said. “Not only did [Calvin and Kellum] miss games, but they’re two of only three seniors that have played Division I college basketball. … What really hurt us was with Joel Angus being senior team captain for us and has been out the entire season.”

Despite these injuries to veteran players, Southeast has stayed in the top half of the standings in the OVC West.

“For us to still be in the same situation that we’re in, a chance to be challenging for first place really says a lot about the character of our guys and their ability to overcome some adversity.”

The women’s team has faced its own adversity with junior guard Hannah Noe missing a conference game and junior forward Deja Jones missing three games. The biggest loss came when redshirt-senior forward Olivia Hackmann broke her right foot, causing her to be out since Jan. 14. This is the same injury that ended Hackmann’s season last year after only nine games.

“We miss Olivia a lot,” Patterson said. “We miss her in practice, we miss her in games because she’s such a competitive young lady … but injuries are part of the game.”

Hackman led the the team in points and rebounds this season, averaging 15.8 points per game and 6.9 rebounds.

“We do miss her, but I do think that we are starting to learn how to play without her and what everybody has to do to make up for what she was able to provide for us.”

Along with the challenge of staying healthy, both teams have found it to be a challenge to obtain wins. The men’s team was 5-10 to start the year before conference play began. This included a seven-game losing streak that included four losses in the Las Vegas Classic. The team was able to beat Henderson State to snap that losing streak going into OVC games. Since conference games began, Southeast has gone 6-5, including a four-game win streak that was snapped by Jacksonville State on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Despite losing the last two games, the team’s 6-5 current conference record still puts them in a prime position to make the tournament.

The men are currently third in the OVC West behind a 7-4 UT Martin team and Murray State at 6-4. UT Martin is one of three teams in the OVC with seven conference wins.

The only team with more wins is Belmont, which currently has a perfect conference record of 11-0.

The women’s team has not won more than two games in a row this season, but they also have yet to lose more than two games in a row.

“You would like to get on a roll,” Patterson said. “But I told the team, last season we started really strong and we sort of limped through the end of the season but we found a way to get into the conference tournament. This year we didn’t start that strong, but I think that we can finish strong, and be one of the hottest teams going into conference play.”

Although Southeast has not been able to win more than two games in a row, the team has played in a lot of close games this season, with seven losses within single digits.

“It’s hard to win any game,” sophomore guard Adrianna Murphy said. “I think it’s just like coach [Patterson] keeps emphasizing, just play tough and play together and just go out there and play your hardest. And I think when we click and we do all that together then good things can happen.”

The women currently have a 4-7 record in conference play and sit in ninth place. The team is only two games out of third place with five games left to play.

The men’s team also has five games left in the regular season, all of which are conference games. With the standings so close in the conference, each game will become critical.

“We’ve got to play with a sense of urgency,” Ray said. “To me, that’s the most important thing, that we go out and play with a sense of urgency on every single possession because each possession counts and each game counts.”

Out of those five games left, three will be at home for both teams.

“We just have to handle our business at home,” Murphy said. “And make sure we put everything together that we’ve been working on, which is rebounding, playing together and executing on every possession.”

The women’s team will be back in action Wednesday, Feb. 8 at the Show Me Center against SIU-Edwardsville. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. The men’s team will travel to SIU-Edwardsville on Thursday Feb. 9 for their contest that will tip-off at 7 p.m.