Southeast men eager to wrap up regular season on high note

First-year Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt knew turning around the struggling program would not be easy and would not happen overnight.

That has been the case for the Redhawks, who after some strong moments early are limping to the finish line with six straight losses overall and eight consecutive Ohio Valley Conference defeats.

Nutt would love to see the Redhawks end the season strong this week as they play their final two games, both at home.

And if the Redhawks are able to beat both Tennessee State tonight and Austin Peay on Saturday in a pair of 7:45 p.m. tipoffs, they very well could find themselves extending their campaign in the OVC tournament.

The top eight finishers in the 10-team league qualify for the conference tournament. Ninth-place Southeast (7-21, 3-13) trails eighth-place Tennessee State (8-21, 5-11) by two games.

Southeast must beat TSU and Austin Peay (16-13, 10-6, tied for third), while TSU loses Saturday at fifth-place Eastern Illinois in its other remaining league contest.

If all that happens, Southeast and TSU would finish tied for eighth and the Redhawks would claim the tie-breaker based on sweeping the season series from the Tigers. Southeast won at TSU 74-66 on Dec. 5.

"There's still a lot to play for. I know our guys still feel like we have a lot of basketball to play," Nutt said. "We're trying to step our program in the right direction and hopefully we can have something good happen in these last two games.

"Making the conference tournament would be a positive step for us. It would be a great experience for these guys."

Completing the first part of the equation won't be easy because TSU is on a roll despite dismissing two of its top players several weeks ago. The Tigers have won four straight conference games.

Leading scorer Josh Sain and his average of 13.7 points per game are no longer around after he was kicked off the team, but two freshmen have helped pick up the slack.

Jacquan Nobles, a 6-foot-4 guard, and 6-8 forward Robert Covington are averaging 11.2 and 10.8 points, respectively. Covington had 18 points against Southeast earlier this season.

"I think they got rid of a couple of guys that were giving them problems and I think their chemistry is better," Nutt said. "They're playing very well."

Nutt is hopeful Southeast will have the services of junior forward Cameron Butler for the final two games.

Butler missed seven recent games with a foot problem, then returned to action before the injury flared up Feb. 16 at Murray State. He sat out Saturday's BracketBusters contest at Miami of Ohio.

"His foot is still very sore, very tender, but I expect him to play," Nutt said.

Also bothered by a foot problem is junior guard Sam Pearson, who has played through the injury all season but was limited to nine minutes at Miami of Ohio.

"We have to have all of our bullets to be competitive," Nutt said.

Perennial OVC power Austin Peay, Saturday's opponent, needed overtime to subdue visiting Southeast 76-71 on Dec. 3.

The Redhawks will have the benefit of a big home crowd when they face Austin Peay on senior night. Seniors Johnny Hill, Israel Kirk and LaMont Russell will be recognized.

Southeast's Show Me Sellout promotion already has produced more than 6,000 tickets sold for one of the biggest expected crowds in several years.

"That's going to be a great night," Nutt said.