Golden Eagles look for fourth straight at Show Me Center, SEMO

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Following a week off from action, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team will return to the hardwood Saturday evening when it makes the trip to the Show Me Center for a road contest against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Tennessee Tech (7-10, 1-4)
vs.
SIU Edwardsville (10-10, 2-4)
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 / 7 p.m. CST
Show Me Center – Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The Broadcasts
Television - none
Radio: Fox Sports Radio, 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: Live on the OVC Digital Network

Setting the Stage
With 43 games spanning over 20 years, the Golden Eagles and Redhawks will meet for the 44th time Saturday night in another Ohio Valley Conference match-up for the two squads. Every single meeting of this long-standing series has occurred with both teams as members of the OVC.

Tennessee Tech has experienced loads of success over its OVC opponent from Missouri, taking 31 of the 43 meetings. In the previous 10 outings, TTU owns an 8-2 advantage over SEMO, winning three straight in Cape Girardeau. Tech will go for its fourth straight in the Show Me Center in this season’s only scheduled meeting against the Redhawks.

There have been plenty of blowouts and close games to go around in the series, with the most regular season meeting going to the Golden Eagles by a 15-point margin. Tech has won three straight over the Redhawks, but have a ways to go to near the series record of 10 consecutive victories set by the Golden Eagles from 2003-2007.

With a match-up against OVC regular season champ and nationally ranked Murray State in the conference championshipo game on the line, these two times fought to the buzzer is the series’ most recent installment.

The Golden Eagles prevailed, defeating the Redhawks 77-73 behind a 24-point effort from former Tech star Kevin Murphy.

Jud Dillard joined in on the action, scoring 18 points and recording nine rebounds in the contest. Former Golden Eagle Zach Swansey notched 12 assists in the contest while chipping in nine points.

With both squads entering Saturday’s showcase coming off of a conference loss, fans can expect to see a hard fought battle. Tech stands at 1-4 in conference play, splitting a two-game road trip last weekend in Illinois. After starting its conference schedule 2-0, SEMO has dropped four straight decisions, including its last two at home.

Southeast Missouri is coming off a 16-point defeat at home against Morehead State that saw the Redhawks sturggle imensely on the glass. SEMO was out-rebounded in the contest 45-23, a mark that allowed the Eagles to escape with a big win despite shooting a lower percentage from the field and comitting more turnovers.

Three Redhawks still managed to put up double digits in the scoring column, including Nino Johnson (13), Lucas Nutt (12), and Tyler Stone (11). Despite the effort, SEMO still fell 75-59.

Even with the struggles on offense against Morehead, Southeast Missouri is still averaging over 70 points per game on the year. As a defense, the team has struggled to stop its opponents, allowing over 70 points per contest this season, including 70 or more its its last five games.

Leading the offensive effort has been Tyler Stone, scoring 16.5 points per game while also pulling down 8.0 rebounds per contest. Corey Wilford ranks second for SEMO, pouring in 13.5 points each time out. Nino Johnson averages almost a double-double per game, scoring 11.8 points and grabbing 9.4 boards.

In its last contest Tech, suffered a tough road loss, falling at SIUE 58-54. The loss came after the Golden Eagles notched their first OVC win of the season over EIU.

Senior guard Jud Dillard, who ranks second in the OVC in scoring with 19.8 points per game, had a huge weekend for the Golden Eagles, tying a career-high 34 points at Eastern Illinois before adding 29 more at Edwardsville. He recorded his sixth double-double of the season against the Cougars, pulling down 12 boards to go with his 29 points.