SEMO recognizes 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame class, men’s and women’s basketball split doubleheader with Morehead State on alumni weekend

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball head coach Rekha Patterson knows how special it is to win on Alumni Weekend. 

“For our players to understand, this is going to be you at some point, and we just want to make sure that everyone who ever played in a SEMO uniform feels welcomed and is welcomed back here because this is their home, this is their program, and so to do it in front of them, it is special, and we want to make sure we are making them proud,” Patterson said.

In the first leg of Saturday’s women’s and men’s doubleheader, the SEMO ladies defeated Morehead State, 69-55, to move into a tie for 5th in the 10-team Ohio Valley Conference. 

Kori Tomlin scored seven of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, three of which came on a long-range connection that extended the Redhawks lead to 13 with 6:35 minutes left. 

“I just know I had confidence in myself and my teammates, and my coach had confidence in me, so if I was open, I was going to shoot it,” she said.

And at halftime of the men’s game, SEMO recognized the 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame class, which includes long-time head coach Ed Arnzen, who led the Redhawks to a national championship game appearance in 1991. 

Patterson said she and Arnzen get together for lunch at least a couple times a year, and Arnzen still keeps up with the program. 

“He’ll pop in and watch practices every once in a while, not a lot, but we want to make sure that he is part of this program,” she said. “I mean, he has a banner hanging with his name on there. He’s been inducted into the hall of fame, and I want to make sure that we respect those that have come before us, so this program will always show him respect.” 

The Redhawks men’s team lost a defensive battle, 65-59. 

Morehead State’s lead stayed between 5 and 14 points the entire second half, and SEMO sophomore guard Aquan Smart said the Eagles delivered every counterpunch. 

“It felt like every time we went on a run, they just got an offensive rebound or a big play happened, and it just sucked all the momentum from us,” he said. “I felt like we kept going, kept punching, and it just got too late in the rounds, and we couldn’t punch anymore, so it’s the end of the fight at that time.” 

Both teams will host Eastern Illinois on Thursday.