GAME NOTES: Ohio Valley Conference foes are set to collide in Cookeville today, as the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at the Eblen Center. SEMO dropped a tough 87-75 decision at Tennessee State on Thursday night, the third loss in a row for the Redhawks. The setback dropped SEMO to 11-8 on the season and 6-3 in OVC play. As for Tennessee Tech, it comes into this matchup on a much lighter note, having won two straight and four of its last five overall. The club's most recent success came in the form of a 74-57 besting of Eastern Illinois on Thursday night, which improved Tech to 8-11 on the season and 5-4 in the OVC. Tennessee Tech holds a 23-12 advantage over SEMO in the all-time series between the two rivals.

SEMO committed 23 turnovers that resulted in 26 points for Tennessee State during Thursday's 12-point loss. The Redhawks were also mediocre from the foul line (20-of-29) and were beaten in the paint by a 38-28 margin. The Redhawks trailed just 34-33 going into the break, but allowed TSU to shoot 53.1 percent from the floor, including 6-of-13 from beyond the arc during the second stanza. Kenard Moore scored 16 points off the bench to lead SEMO in the losing effort, while Jaycen Herring and Marcus Rhodes netted 11 points each. Calvin Williams added 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Herring leads the team in scoring this season despite being credited with just one start all year. Herring is, however, averaging more minutes per game (24.8) than any other player on the team, and he leads SEMO with 12.0 ppg. Brandon Foust follows with 11.6 ppg, and is second on the team in rebounds as well (6.4 rpg), while Roderick Pearson has been responsible for 10.2 ppg.

Anthony Fisher scored 19 points to lead the Golden Eagles in their 17-point victory over EIU on Thursday night, a game in which Tennessee Tech shot a solid 49.0 percent from the floor and hit 12-of-24 from long range. Amadi McKenzie netted 18 points to go with six assists, while Daniel Northern tallied 12 points to go with a game-high 15 rebounds. Frank Davis also hit double figures with his 11 points. Tennessee Tech held EIU to just 40.0 percent shooting from the floor, and forced a dozen turnovers. Tech currently boasts three starters contributing double figures in the scoring column, led by Fisher and his 16.6 ppg. McKenzie checks in as the club's second-leading scorer with 13.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Rounding out the trio is Northern, who is responsible for 11.3 points and 8.7 caroms per contest.

Expect SEMO to steal a road win here in what should be a hotly-contested bout. Tennessee Tech has been hot of late, and has the home crowd behind it, but might not be able to keep up with the Redhawks' balanced attack.