Thursday, February 28th, 8:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Show Me Center (6,972) -- Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Television: OVCSports.TV. Home Record: Samford 7-7, SEMO 7-4. Away Record: Samford 6-7, SEMO 4-12. Neutral Record: Samford 0-0, SEMO 1-1. Conference Record: Samford 9-9, SEMO 7-11. Series Record: Samford leads, 6-4.

GAME NOTES: The Samford Bulldogs will try to secure a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament when they take on the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks this evening at the Show Me Center. Samford is currently 9-9 in OVC action, placing the team in a tie for sixth place with Tennessee Tech. Over the weekend, the Bulldogs grabbed a hard-fought, 73-70 overtime victory over Louisiana Tech. It was the second win in a row for Samford, which also defeated Eastern Kentucky (74-73) last week. As for the Redhawks, they are on the brink of missing postseason action SEMO is just 7-11 in league play and a large reason for the lackluster record is due to the team's horrific slide over the past two months. The Redhawks ave lost 12 of their last 13 games, including six in a row. The last time SEMO was on the court the team stumbled against Eastern Michigan by an 86-82 margin. Earlier this season, the Redhawks grabbed a thrilling, 63-62 victory over Samford. However, the Bulldogs still hold a slim, 6-4 edge in the all-time series.

Samford put forth a surprising effort this past Saturday, as the team scored 73 points en route to an overtime win over Louisiana Tech. Throughout the season, the Bulldogs have really struggled to produce points, putting up a mere 58.1 ppg. Bryan Friday scored 20 points in the win over Louisiana Tech, while Travis Peterson posted 18 points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds. Peterson has been the top option for Samford throughout the season and is posting team-highs in points (13.0 ppg) and assists (91), while also collecting 4.6 rpg. Trey Montgomery contributed 16 points and six rebounds on Saturday, while the team's second leading scorer, Joe Ross Merritt (12.0 ppg) added nine points and pulled down eight caroms.

The Redhawks' collapse is largely due to the team's horrendous play at the defensive end of the floor, as they are surrendering a whopping 82.6 ppg, while allowing team's to shoot 43.6 percent from the floor. Over the weekend, SEMO allowed a lowly Eastern Michigan team to score 86 points en route to a four- point win over the Redhawks. The terrible defensive play overshadowed a strong offensive performance by SEMO, which shot 46.4 percent from the floor and also made 10-of-24 attempts from behind the arc. Jaycen Herring, who is leading the team with 13.3 ppg, posted 19 points in the loss to EMU. Kenard Moore added 18 points, while Will Bogan chipped in 14 points. As for the team's second leading scorer, Roderick Pearson (10.4 ppg), he finished with only four points and six assists.

The Redhawks still have a slim chance at the postseason, but the team absolutely has to grab a win tonight to keep those fading hopes alive. If SEMO can put forth a half decent defensive effort, then the Redhawks will likely pull out a win at home.

Predicted Outcome

Southeast Missouri 72, Samford 70