Allison, Butler help Redhawks set stage for brighter days

~ The two seniors will play their final home game Saturday against Sacramento State

Anthony Allison and Cameron Butler knew they were getting into a tough situation when they joined Southeast Missouri State's reeling men's basketball program.

The wins haven't come as often as they would have liked, but both expressed no regrets entering the final home game of their college careers.

Allison and Butler, Southeast's only two seniors, will be recognized before Saturday's 7:30 p.m. tipoff against Sacramento State in the annual BracketBusters contest.

"It didn't go the way I wanted, but I wanted to help start a foundation here," said Allison, a 5-foot-11 guard.

Southeast Missouri State's Cameron Butler knocks a loose ball to teammate Lucas Nutt during a win last month against Eastern Illinois. (Laura Simon)

Added Butler, a 6-6 forward: "We haven't won as much as we wanted, but I'm very pleased I came here. I've enjoyed it."

Allison and Butler were among Southeast coach Dickey Nutt's first recruits two years ago when he took over a program coming off a three-win season and facing NCAA probation.

"You've got to give them a lot of credit for what they came into. They wanted to come here, try and get something off the ground," Nutt said. "They're a big part of what we're trying to build here and they're two of my all-time favorites to coach."

Allison and Butler have been key contributors during both their Southeast seasons, including this year as the Redhawks have clinched their first Ohio Valley Conference tournament berth since the 2006-07 campaign.

Southeast (8-19, 6-10) is seventh in the 10-team league with two conference games left. The top eight qualify for the tournament. The Redhawks assured themselves a spot in the field with Wednesday's upset of Murray State.

"That was my dream, to go to any type of tournament," Allison said.

Allison, a native of Marianna, Ark., is Southeast's second-leading scorer with a 12.2 average that ranks 12th in the OVC. He has reached double figures in 21 of 27 games this season.

"Anthony is so consistent," Nutt said. "Day in and day out you can count on him."

Butler, who has played through painful foot problems all season, is averaging 6.3 points while ranking second on the squad in rebounding (6.2) and field-goal percentage (53.1).

"Cameron is such a tough individual," Nutt said. "Most people wouldn't be able to play with what he has. He can't do all the things he's capable of doing because he's dealing with a lot of pain, but he still brings so much to our team."

Allison was Southeast's No. 2 scorer last year with a 10.1 average when the Redhawks went 7-23 overall and a ninth-place 3-15 in the OVC. He was also the league's second-most accurate 3-point shooter at 46.8 percent.

Butler was third on last season's squad in scoring and second in rebounding with averages of nine points and 5.3 boards. He also posted a team-high 21 blocks.

Southeast's two seniors also have been solid students in addition to their on-court contributions.

Allison, a mass communications major, hopes to get a job in some type of advertising or broadcasting field.

Butler, a general studies major with a minor in recreation, wants to work with children some day.

"They've been very good citizens as well as basketball players," Nutt said.

The seniors are looking forward to closing out their careers strong. Southeast has three more regular-season games -- including OVC contests next week at Tennessee State and Austin Peay -- before the trip to Nashville, Tenn., for the conference tournament.

"We might get hot and shock the OVC," Allison said.

Victories the past two years might not have been plentiful for Allison and Butler, but they believe they helped lay some groundwork for what they are confident will become a top-flight OVC program.

"We set the foundation," Butler said. "This will be a great program. The sky's the limit."

About the Hornets

Sacramento State (7-17, 4-9) is seventh in the nine-team Big Sky Conference. The Hornets are coming off their first road win of the season, 74-71 at Montana State on Monday that snapped a 15-game road losing streak dating back to last season.

The Hornets, after starting Big Sky play 0-7, have won four of their last six games.

Senior guard Sultan Toles-Bey (12.8) and sophomore forward John Dickson (11.3) are the Hornets' top scorers.

Southeast and Sacramento State will meet for the first time. Southeast is 0-5 all-time in BracketBusters games.