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OVC Basketball: Recap of Day Two of 2023 conferenece tournament

By Harry Schroeder

UT-Martin’s Rifen Miguel (22) lunges for SIU-Edwardsville’s DeeJuan Pruitt (1) in the first half of their game for the second round of the Ohio Valley Conference at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Wednesday night, March 2, 2023.Utm Siue 030223 0088
UT-Martin’s Rifen Miguel (22) lunges for SIU-Edwardsville’s DeeJuan Pruitt (1) in the first half of their game for the second round of the Ohio Valley Conference at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Wednesday night, March 2, 2023.Utm Siue 030223 0088 /
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It was a wild second day at the OVC Basketball Conference Tournament. There was a punch thrown at center court and three players ejected.

It was a wild second day at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. They’ve never seen a quarterfinal day like this. There were high-scoring, tightly contested games between teams trying to continue seasons that have been historic in nature. Teams played short-handed and through a mountain of adversity.

Southeast Missouri and UT Martin were the winners, but those facts are almost the ‘back story’.

We’ll take the late game first. UT Martin went on a late 17-1 run to grab an 81-75 come-from-behind win over Southern Illinois Edwardsville. That too is just part of the story. With just over four minutes left in the opening half, there was a physical altercation between SIUE’s DeeJuan Pruitt and UTM’s Rifen Miguel. Skyhawk forward Jaylen Myers was also engaged and all three players were ejected.

Both teams were already playing short-handed. UTM’s K.J. Simon and SIUE’s Ray’Sean Taylor were unavailable for the game due injuries. In their absence, other players performed in unbelievable fashion. SIUE’s Damarco Minor, who scored a career-high 27 points on Wednesday, exploded for 32 on Thursday.

Skyhawk guard Jordan Sears, who was the team’s leading scorer in conference-only games, left the game with a scary-looking leg injury and returned to score 33 points in the crucial win. Due to NCAA regulations, Miguel and Myers are suspended for tonight’s game against second-seeded Tennessee Tech.

SEMO defeated Tennessee State 93-81 in a game that was a rematch from an earlier contest where over 50 personal fouls were called and eleven technical added in. This contest was tame compared to that one, but 174 points later the Redhawks (17-16) won and advanced to take on top-seeded Morehead State in Friday’s semifinal round.

Next. 2023 OVC Tournament preview. dark

Chris Harris led SEMO with a career-high 29 points and grabbed eleven rebounds. All-OVC guard Phillip Russell chipped in with 18 points and seven assists. Tennessee State’s Jr. Clay delivered a masterful 34-point, eleven-rebound game of his own. TSU (18-14) recorded back-to-back 18-win seasons.

SEMO plays the conference champion Eagles (21-10) at 7 pm on ESPNU.