Southeast men to host last-place team

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team hopes to get well against the Ohio Valley Conference's last-place squad still searching for its first league win.

But Southeast coach Dickey Nutt knows the Redhawks can't afford to take anybody lightly. Not with his team mired in a four-game losing streak.

Southeast will treat Jacksonville State with plenty of respect in today's 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center.

JSU is 2-18 overall and 0-9 in the OVC. The Gamecocks are riding a school-record tying 14-game losing streak. Their last victory came Nov. 27 against South Dakota.

"It's conference play. You can throw the records out the window," Nutt said. "Right now we're not good enough to just show up and win just because we're at home. We'll have to play well."

Eighth-place Southeast is 5-15 overall and 4-6 in the OVC following Saturday's 96-58 pounding at Murray State.

Southeast's four-game skid has taken place right after the Redhawks won four straight conference games for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Nutt hopes the Redhawks can get back to that type of play, but he knows their margin for error is slim, especially being short-handed. They have played the past two games with only eight available players.

"I don't know if there are any teams in the country when the game starts and there are only three players on the bench," Nutt said. "It's tough right now, but our guys are hanging in there. I think they deserve a lot of credit."

Southeast's run of four consecutive OVC victories started with a 76-67 triumph at Jacksonville State on Dec. 19.

The Gamecocks are struggling but have been close to winning several times recently. Two of their last three losses were by a total of eight points.

Seven of JSU's nine conference defeats have been by nine points or less, with four by five points or less.

"I know they think they can come in here and win," Nutt said.

JSU ranks last in the OVC in scoring with an average of 59.5 points per game.

Senior guard Nick Murphy leads the Gamecocks with averages of 15.5 points and 5.9 rebounds. He is the OVC's No. 4 scorer and No. 7 rebounder.

Also averaging in double figures for the Gamecocks are senior guard Jeremy Bynum (11.2) and junior forward Stephen Hall (10.8).

Bynum is shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range (43 of 110). He is ninth in the league in 3-point percentage and second in 3-pointers made.

Southeast sophomore guard Marland Smith is coming off a big week. He scored a combined 56 points in losses at Tennessee-Martin and Murray State.

The Redhawks are more than halfway through their 18-game conference schedule. The top eight finishers in the 10-team league qualify for the OVC tournament. Southeast leads ninth-place Tennessee-Martin by just one game.

By the same token, Southeast is only 1 1/2 games out of fourth place in the tight conference race.

Today's contest begins a two-game homestand for Southeast that includes Saturday's "Show-Me Sellout" matchup against Tennessee Tech.

Southeast won at Tech (9-9, 5-4) 77-75 on Dec. 21. The Eagles are in a three-way tie for fourth place.