Ohio Valley Basketball Tournament: SEMO, Morehead State moves on

CINCINNATI, OHIO - DECEMBER 15: Ta'lon Cooper #55 of the Morehead State Eagles dribbles by Dwon Odom #11 of the Xavier Musketeers during a college basketball game at the Cintas Center on December 15, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Day two of the Ohio Valley Basketball Conference tournament gave us two lopsided victories. After four tournament games, the top four teams play on Friday.

Day two of the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Tournament gave us two lopsided contests. Southeast Missouri blasted Tennessee State 79-55. The Redhawks dominated the boards (47-32), turned the Tigers over 18 times, and shut down TSU’s outside game.

Southeast Missouri scored the game’s first 13 points of the contest.

Tennessee State made just one of 12 long-distance attempts.

First team, All-OVC guard Eric Reed Jr led the Redhawks with 22 points while Manny Patterson recorded a double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds. SEMO (14-17) has won three of its last four games, with the only loss coming by two points to Friday’s opponent, 19th ranked Murray State.

TSU’s Marcus Fitzgerald scored a career-high-tying 23 points. The Tigers (14-18) had won four of their last five games and finished the season with ten more victories than last season.

Southeast Missouri’s four seed is its highest since the last time the Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Tournament championship (2000). They have advanced to the title game twice in their OVC history.

Defending tournament champion Morehead state (22-10) defeated Tennessee Tech 73-56. Four Morehead players reached double figures as the Eagles won their fourth straight OVC Tournament game. Point guard Ta’lon Cooper led the way with 14 points and seven assists and no turnovers.

Defending tournament MVP, Johni Broome scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked three shots.

Head coach Preston Spradlin says his team got back to what makes them successful. Spradlin says rebounding, defense, and taking care of the ball are the things they must do to succeed. The Eagles held Tech to 31 percent from deep and dominated the boards (41-33).

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During day three of the OVC Tournament, the top four seeds will be in action. Top-seeded and nationally ranked Murray State faces Southeast Missouri and Morehead State takes on second-seeded Belmont. Morehead and Belmont split their regular-season games. The Bruins have played in four straight OVC Tournament title games. Morehead beat them in the championship game last season. Belmont won the tournament title in 2020.