Ohio Valley Conference

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - - Rob Martin poured in a game-high 21 points and #1 Southeast Missouri (21-11) crushed #4 Little Rock (19-14), 78-59, Friday night in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

SEMO advances to its fourth OVC Tournament final in program history and second in three years under Head Coach Brad Korn.

The Redhawks led for all but 33 seconds of the game en route to ending LR's season during their first-ever meeting with the Trojans in OVC Tournament play.

Down, 17-16, SEMO put together a 22-5 run to seize control.

Troy Cole, Jr. began the surge with two free throws and Martin followed with back-to-back jumpers. Cole, Jr. added a layup and later got a steal and breakaway dunk to give the Redhawks their first double-digit lead at 30-20.

Cole, Jr. continued his assault with a 3-pointer and finished the burst with another dunk off a Teddy Washington, Jr. steal to extend SEMO's lead to 38-22 with 3:41 remaining in the first half.

After LR narrowed the Redhawks lead to nine, Washington, Jr. made a turnaround jumper with three seconds left to put SEMO ahead, 40-29, at the half.

SEMO scored 15 fast break points and shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field in the game's opening 20 minutes behind Cole, Jr. and Martin, who pitched in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

A 6-0 run helped the Trojans get within eight (46-38) with 14:13 left to play and that was the final time LR was down by single digits the rest of the way.

TJ Biel quickly responded with a driving layup to regain SEMO's double figure advantage. Biel then drained a 3-pointer and added two free throws in a span of 16 seconds to stretch the Redhawks lead to 64-47 with 7:16 to go.

The Redhawks used a 12-2 to bury the Trojans for good late in the game. Washington, Jr. made a free throw to give SEMO its largest lead of the night at 70-48 at the 5:48 mark.

Martin, who has scored double figures in 17-straight games, went over 20 points in his first career OVC Tournament start. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 at the free throw line.

Cole, Jr. followed with a career-high 17 points and Biel pitched in a season-high 13 off the bench.

SEMO made eight 3-pointers and outscored LR, 24-6, from downtown. The Redhawks also outrebounded the Trojans, 33-30, in a game that included 45 combined fouls.

The 19-point win was SEMO's biggest margin of victory in an OVC Tournament semifinal game in program history.

#2 SIUE 71, #3 TENNESSEE STATE 69
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - OVC Player of the Year Ray'Sean Taylor scored 24 points and second-seeded SIUE outlasted No. 3 Tennessee State 71-69 in the second semifinal game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. With the win, the Cougars advance to the OVC Championship game for the first time. SIUE will meet top-seeded Southeast Missouri Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Cougars improved to 21-11. Tennessee State fell to 16-16.

Desmond Polk hit a transition three with 6:16 to play in the first half to give the Cougars their largest lead at 33-21.

Another Desmond Polk three-pointer from the left wing at the halftime buzzer gave SIUE a 10-point lead (42-32) at the break.

Tennessee State flipped the script in the second half and used a 12-2 run to take a 61-59 lead after a Ronald Jessamy offensive rebound and putback with 6:15 left.

SIUE got the lead back to five when Ray'Sean Taylor knocked down a three-pointer at 3:47. Brian Taylor II hit one of two free throw attempts to make it 71-65 with 2:38 left.

TSU used a steal and score and two free throws to trail 71-69. After an SIUE miss, Tennessee State called timeout with 23 seconds to play.

The SIUE defense kept TSU away from the basket and the Tigers never got a look before the final buzzer sounded.

Josh Ogundele led TSU with 19 points.