Redhawks men eager to build on momentum

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team should feel pretty good entering the start of another Ohio Valley Conference road trip.

That's because the Redhawks have fared much better away from home in OVC play than they have at the Show Me Center.

Southeast is 3-2 in OVC road games but just 2-6 in conference contests at home. The Redhawks are among five OVC squads to have a winning road record during league play.

"It is unusual, but for whatever reason we play better on the road," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "We haven't played very well at home."

The Redhawks hope their solid road play continues today against Eastern Kentucky. The tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. in Richmond, Ky. Southeast then visits Morehead State on Saturday night.

Southeast Missouri State's Cameron Butler takes a shot over Jacksonville State's Stephen Hall during the first half of their game last month at the Show Me Center. (Fred Lynch)

"These will be two very tough games against teams fighting for position in the conference, like we are," Nutt said.

Southeast (7-17, 5-8) is seventh in the 10-team OVC with five league games left. The top eight finishers qualify for the conference tournament.

The Redhawks helped their push for their first OVC tournament berth since the 2006-07 season with Saturday's 70-64 win at Eastern Illinois.

Southeast then posted an 83-63 nonconference victory Monday at SIU-Edwardsville, which joins the OVC next season. The two-game winning streak comes immediately after a six-game losing skid.

"We're playing with a lot of confidence right now," Nutt said.

Southeast Missouri State coach John Ishee talks to his players during the second half of a game last month at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks play at Eastern Kentucky today. (Fred Lynch)

The Redhawks lead eighth-place Eastern Illinois by one game and ninth-place Tennessee-Martin by two games. Last-place Jacksonville State is another half-game back.

"We're certainly not out of the woods," Nutt said. "I feel like we still need to get some more wins to get into the tournament. That's our mindset."

EKU (13-11, 7-6) is in sixth place, two games ahead of Southeast. Morehead (17-8, 9-4) is second, just one game behind first-place Murray State.

Southeast lost to both EKU and Morehead at home. The Colonels beat the Redhawks 64-52 on Jan. 15 and the Eagles prevailed 76-63 on Jan. 13.

EKU features the OVC's most prolific 3-point shooting squad, having made 189 from beyond the arc. The Colonels are third in 3-point percentage (36.7).

The Colonels are led by senior guard Spencer Perrin at 13.3 points per game.

Senior forward Justin Stommes averages 10.8 points and is sixth in the OVC from 3-point range at 40.9 percent.

"They're a difficult offense to defend," Nutt said. "Everybody they put on the floor can shoot 3-pointers."

Morehead uses a more traditional offense led by senior forward Kenneth Faried, a potential first-round NBA draft pick who is second in the OVC with a 17-point scoring average and leads the nation in rebounding with a 14.2 mark.

Senior guard Demonte Harper is the OVC's No. 3 scorer at 15.8 and ranks seventh in 3-point percentage (40.2).

Women at EKU

Southeast's women also play at EKU today in a 4:30 p.m. tipoff before visiting Morehead on Saturday.

The Redhawks (7-15, 3-9), who have lost three straight and four of five, are seventh in the OVC with six conference games left, but they have three teams breathing down their necks.

One of those is EKU (6-16, 3-10), tied for eighth and just a half-game behind Southeast. The Redhawks beat the Colonels 74-58 on Jan. 15 in Cape Girardeau, so a win would give Southeast the tie-breaker in case the squads finish with identical conference records.

The Redhawks grabbed an 11-point lead at halftime in their first meeting with the Colonels.

Four Southeast players finished in double figures that game, led by Katie Norman's 15 points. Courtney Shiffer added 13, while Brittany Harriel and Karley Evans chipped in 10 apiece.

Southeast shot 48.8 percent from the floor compared to 28.3 percent for EKU.

Brittany Coles led EKU with 13 points in the game.

Southeast has defeated all three of the squads behind it, including Tennessee State and last-place Murray State. Tennessee State also is a half-game behind the Redhawks while Murray is only one game behind.

Second-place Morehead (17-7, 10-3) knocked off Southeast 85-69 on Jan. 13 at the Show Me Center.

The Redhawks have just one true road victory this season, at Murray State.