Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team inks pair of guards

Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Rick Ray sought after guards for next season's team since the Redhawks' lone senior they'll have to replace is guard Isiah Jones.

Ray filled that need with the signing of a pair of high school seniors on Wednesday, the first day of the week-long early signing period.

Denzel Mahoney, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard from Florida, and Ray Kowalski, a 6-3, 185-pound guard from North Carolina, both signed National Letters of Intent, the Southeast athletic department announced.

"I want to commend my staff for doing an excellent job of recruiting the type of student-athletes that our fan base will appreciate both on and off the court," Ray said in a press release. "My assistants did an outstanding job of identifying the skill level, toughness and character that I covet and expect in our program."

Mahoney averaged 24 points and nine rebounds, and knocked down 105 3s, as a junior at Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida, to help his team finish second in state.

He was Florida's 8A State Player of the Year and the SAC Conference Player of the Year and second-team all-state.

"We did not see anyone play harder in the July recruiting period than Denzel," Ray said of Mahoney, who played AAU ball for the Q6 All Stars. "He is a talented scorer that will have a chance to contribute to our team early because of his physical strength and skill. Denzel is a great young man who will only add to the positive culture we are building here."

Kowalski averaged 19 points, five rebounds and 3.5 steals during his junior campaign at Concord High School in Concord, North Carolina.

Kowalski shot 48 percent from beyond the arc, averaging 3.2 3-pointers per game. He was all-conference and all-district and is a preseason All-Cabarrus County selection.

Kowalski, who played for the AAU team Pro Skills Basketball Select, spent the first two seasons of his high school career at Northside Christian Academy, which went 62-4 and won state championships both years.

"Ray caught our attention right away because of his ability to shoot the ball and his competitive fire," Ray said. "He is a young man that works extremely hard to become a better basketball player. That work ethic carries over to the classroom where he excels. We look for Ray to step in and ease the loss of the perimeter shooting we are losing with Isiah Jones."

Ray's first season at Southeast begins Friday with a 6 p.m. tipoff at Dayton.