Rembert may be back before end of year

~ The junior center injured his knee and has missed the last two games.

Amid Southeast Missouri State's two-game losing streak, some good news emerged Wednesday.

There is renewed hope that junior center Mike Rembert will be able to play again this season.

Southeast coach Scott Edgar said Rembert's injured right knee is progressing nicely. If things continue to go well, Edgar said Rembert could return to the court next week.

"The swelling in Mike's knee has gone down and if he keeps getting better, we're hopeful of having him back for the final week of the regular season and then for the conference tournament," Edgar said.

Rembert suffered strained ligaments late during a Feb. 8 home win over Morehead State, although an MRI exam revealed no structural damage.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Rembert -- Southeast's leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer -- has missed the Redhawks' last two games.

Rembert also won't play Saturday night when the Redhawks host Louisiana Tech in the BracketBusters game, but he could be available when Southeast finishes the regular season next week with two games in Alabama -- Feb. 22 at Samford and Feb. 24 at Jacksonville State.

"It's feeling a lot better than it was and I'm hoping to be back," Rembert said.

Rembert is averaging 10.3 points and six rebounds per game.

"Mike was playing well before he got hurt, and not only that but he's one of the most mature guys on the team," Edgar said. "We really miss him and getting him back would be a big lift for us."

Southeast fell to 10-17 overall and 8-10 in Ohio Valley Conference play with Tuesday's 77-69 loss at Eastern Illinois.

The Redhawks, in sixth place in the 11-team OVC, have not yet clinched a spot in the eight-team conference tournament, although they lead Morehead State and Jacksonville State -- who are tied for eighth -- by 1 1/2 games.