Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team faces long trip this weekend

~ The Southeast men will travel to McNeese State for their BracketBusters contest

Spending more than 20 hours on a bus just days before a lengthy Ohio Valley Conference road trip to end the regular season is not ideal.

But that's the situation the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team faces for this year's BracketBusters matchup.

The Redhawks visit McNeese State for a 3 p.m. tipoff Saturday. It will be the first meeting between the programs.

McNeese State is located in Lake Charles, La., approximately an 11-hour drive from Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks left Thursday and planned to break up the trip there into two days before returning home following the contest.

"We're going to make the most of it," said Southeast coach Dickey Nutt, whose squad will host McNeese State in a future season -- probably next year -- as part of the BracketBusters arrangement. "These guys are young. They can handle it."

Southeast (14-12, 9-5) is third in the OVC with two games remaining next week -- at Jacksonville State and at Austin Peay.

McNeese State is 14-10 overall and 10-2 in Southland Conference play. The Cowboys, who have won seven consecutive games, lead the Southland's East Division.

The Cowboys are led by 6-foot-4 senior guard Patrick Richard, the Southland's top scorer with a 17.5-point average. He also paces the squad in assists with 72 and is second in rebounds with 6.3 per game.

Junior guards Jeremie Mitchell (11 ppg) and Dontae Cannon (10.8 ppg) also average in double-figure points for the Cowboys.

"We're going to take this like it's a tournament game. It means a lot to us to get to that 15th win," Nutt said. "And they're a very good team."

Southeast has not reached 15 victories since the 2004-05 squad went 15-14 for the program's most recent winning season.

The Redhawks already are assured of the program's first winning conference record since the 2004-05 unit went 9-7 in OVC play.

Southeast is 1-5 all-time in BracketBusters games. The Redhawks beat Sacramento State 67-52 last season.