Southeast Missouri State men's basketball looks for better performance, repeat win at UT Martin

Rick Ray is big on numbers.

One of the first things the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach, who holds a degree in applied mathematics and secondary education, usually does following a game is point to a handful of stats that led to his team's success, or lack thereof.

Before the Redhawks head to the Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee, tonight to take on UT Martin at 6 p.m., Ray already has plenty of stats he can use to explain to his players how important it will be to have a good night defensively against the Skyhawks.

"We've got data right there in front of us from our first-half performance, how well we can defend UT Martin," Ray said. "We've got to have that same type of performance, not just to start off the game but we've got to carry that defensive performance throughout the whole course of the game."

In that first matchup, on Jan. 24, Southeast held UTM to 15 first-half points and led by as many as 19 before losing the lead and then picking up the 68-60 win in overtime.

UTM posted its second-lowest field-goal percentage of the season, shooting 33.8 percent, and its lowest 3-point field-goal percentage at 15.4 percent. The Skyhawks were 0 of 9 from beyond the arc in the first half, during which they were held to seven field goals, and made just four triples in the second half.

The Redhawks held two of UTM's top scorers to just five points apiece. Forwards Twymond Howard and Myles Taylor, who average 16.6 and 11.9 points per game, respectively, in conference play, each finished with five.

Guard Alex Anderson, who averages 12.6 ppg, scored 16 and knocked down all four UTM 3s. Forward Kedar Edwards finished with a career-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds.

Edwards made his first Ohio Valley Conference start of the season against Southeast and has started each game since.

The Skyhawks followed up that defeat with an 82-74 loss at Eastern Illinois before beating Murray State (63-59), Austin Peay (86-77) and SIU Edwardsville (79-62).

During the three-game win streak the starting five have played the majority of the minutes and guard Jacolby Mobley's minutes have increased.

The Skyhawks are shooting 52.2 percent from the field in their last four games. They're shooting 55.9 percent from 3-point range in the last two.

"I think they made some personnel changes that've helped the team, but you already said it, it's their ability to make shots," Ray said. "They're knocking down shots now and that's the biggest difference from what I've seen."

Southeast shot 37.5 percent from the floor and was 4 of 20 from outside the arc in its victory over the Skyhawks.

Guard Antonius Cleveland, in his first game back from a wrist injury, led all scorers with 20 points and had 11 rebounds. Forward Joel Angus III had 18 points and eight rebounds and forward Trey Kellum had 11 points, seven of which came in overtime, and 15 rebounds.

"Their matchup zone gave us problems because we failed to get the ball into the teeth of the defense," Ray said. "We've got to be willing to drive the ball into those gaps and create opportunities by getting the ball into the paint. I thought we were just kind of passing the ball around the horn and we've got to be willing to penetrate those gaps and make plays, so I think that's going to be a huge component to us being good against their matchup zone."

Southeast (5-19, 2-9 OVC) defeated SIU Edwardsville for its only other conference win before the three-game slide its currently on. The Redhawks have posted losses to Austin Peay (86-80), Murray State (78-72) and Eastern Illinois (78-69) in the last week and a half.

The Skyhawks sit in third in the OVC West Division standings at 13-12 and 5-5 in conference.

"It's always a good barometer when you've played a team yourself and you're coming around and playing them a second time because you have your own tape to look at," Ray said. "I think oftentimes you look and you see what you think can be successful against a team based off what you've seen off tape against different opponents, but when you're looking at what your team did specifically I think it's a great way for you to go back and make corrections and change the errors that you had. Obviously the negative of that is UT Martin has the same advantage that we have in that regard."