OVC leader faces a small task

~ Southeast men visit a Jacksonville state team powered by 5-foot-6 guard DeAndre Bray.

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- At 5-feet-6 -- and that listed height might be generous -- DeAndre Bray is the Ohio Valley Conference's shortest men's basketball player.

But Bray, who also is among the smallest players across the nation, has not let that lack of size hold him back.

Jacksonville State's junior is among the NCAA Division I leaders in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.

When Southeast Missouri State (7-4, 3-0 OVC) visits JSU (2-8, 0-3) at 7:30 p.m. tonight, one of the game's more intriguing individual matchups will be at the point guard position.

That's where Bray, the OVC leader in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio, will square off against Southeast sophomore Roderick Pearson.

While the 6-2 Pearson, tied for the Redhawks' scoring lead with Jaycen Herring at 12.7 points per game, is among the OVC's quicker guards, Bray is jet-quick.

Pearson acknowledged that Bray is one of the few players in the conference who trumps him in the speed and quickness department.

"He's one of the quickest players I've ever faced," Pearson said. "Last year he was a pest."

Even though JSU had a down season last year, finishing ninth in the 11-team OVC and missing out on the conference tournament, the Gamecocks beat the Redhawks in both meetings.

Bray finished the 2006-07 season with 156 assists and 81 turnovers.

This year, Bray has 78 assists -- averaging 7.8 per game -- and 19 turnovers. He has also bumped up his scoring average to 6.1 points per game, after he averaged just 2.3 points last season.

Bray entered this week second nationally in assists and third in assist-to-turnover ratio.

"He's maximizing his strength," JSU coach Mike LaPlante told the Anniston (Ala.) Star. "He knows going into it that he might be at a disadvantage size-wise a lot of times, so we're not asking him to score a lot of points. We're asking him to be accountable for a lot of points, and he's been able to do that.

"We've asked him to be a higher-percentage player. He's always been a guy who's had a chance to be a good assist guy, [but] he's done a good job of minimizing his turnovers and really maximizing his assists. Assists are important, but that assist-to-turnover ratio is even more important."

Bray told the newspaper that his national rankings motivate him, even though he doesn't necessarily focus on individual statistics.

"It means I know I'm doing something right and I'm helping my team out," he said.

But despite Bray's impressive numbers, the Gamecocks are reeling. They have lost five straight and have not defeated a Division I opponent (their wins were against Tennessee Temple and Berry College).

JSU is coming off Tuesday night's 79-65 home loss to Murray State that marked the Gamecocks' first game without senior forward Dorien Brown.

Brown, JSU's top returning player from last season, is out for the remainder of the campaign after being declared academically ineligible. He was third on the team in scoring (9.7 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.3).

The Gamecocks are led offensively by 6-foot senior guard Will Ginn and 6-2 freshman guard Jeremy Bynum at 10.5 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Bynum missed the Murray State contest with an injury and his status for tonight is not known.

Poor free-throw shooting has particularly hampered the Gamecocks as they are hitting just 49.7 percent from the line. Against Murray State, JSU was 6-of-19.

While JSU is struggling, Southeast is rolling. The Redhawks began this week's road trip Tuesday night by rallying past Samford 63-62 on sophomore guard Jimmy Drew's 3-pointer with one second left.

The Redhawks are all alone in first place in the OVC as they are off to their best conference start since the NCAA tournament team of 1999-2000 began league play 4-0.

"It's great to be 3-0 in the OVC," said Southeast coach Scott Edgar, whose squad is riding a three-game winning streak. "Hopefully we can keep it going."

Edgar knows the Redhawks will face a desperate team tonight, one that is led by the league's smallest player.

Pearson said he's ready to take on the challenge of chasing Bray all over the court, although he's not really looking at the matchup in individual terms.

"Mainly I just want to help the team win," he said.