SEMO men's basketball announces departures of Eaddy, Tchiengang

Southeast Missouri State's Tahj Eaddy drives to the basket during the first half against Hannibal-LaGrange on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016, at the Show Me Center. (Trent Singer)

Guard Tahj Eaddy and center William Tchiengang are leaving the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program, both of which were announced by coach Rick Ray on Thursday.

The announcement comes eight days after it was revealed by the NCAA that the Redhawks will be ineligible for postseason play in 2017-18 due to low Academic Progress Rate scores.

"In this day and age of college basketball, transfers are going to happen across the country, and our program is not immune to this pattern," Ray said in a news release. "Our staff is prepared for and more than capable of dealing with this national trend.

"I am confident that we have proactively recruited and will continue to recruit student-athletes that will make us successful both on and off the court for next season and beyond. We look forward to building on our significant improvement that we experienced this past season."

As a freshman, Eaddy made 12 starts in 2016-17 and saw action in 30 games, averaging 7.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. His biggest moment came in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament when he knocked down a game-winning 3-pointer from well beyond the left arc in the final seconds of overtime, lifting the fifth-seeded Redhawks to a 78-75 win over eighth-seeded Tennessee State.

The 6-foot-8 Tchiengang generated 1.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 18 games last season, 10 of which were starts. He finished his third college season after transferring to Southeast from Midland College.