Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team looks for first road win in California

~ The Southeast men are 0-5 on the road entering tonight's game against Sacramento State

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team will have one more chance to pick up a road win before starting Ohio Valley Conference play.

Southeast, winless in five road games this season, also will try to break a three-game losing streak when it visits Sacramento State today for a 9:05 p.m. tipoff.

Southeast (4-7) is coming off a 84-65 loss to SMU that marked the Redhawks' second consecutive defeat at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks had won their first four home games.

Sacramento State (5-5) beat North Dakota 75-64 in its most recent outing.

"We have not been good on the road," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "Something good needs to happen to this team. We've got to have some confidence.

"I can't think of a better way to make it happen than winning [today]."

The game is a return from last year's BracketBuster meeting at the Show Me Center, which Southeast won 67-52.

The Hornets went 7-21 overall and 4-12 in the Big Sky Conference last year, but Nutt expects a difficult test.

"Every team we play is going to be tough on us right now," Nutt said. "We just don't have a lot of confidence right now."

Sacramento State and Southeast have played one common opponent this year -- Central Arkansas.

The Hornets routed UCA 75-54 at home, while the Redhawks lost to UCA 88-72 on the road to start their current losing streak.

John Dickson, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, leads the Hornets with an average of 12.7 points per game.

Joe Eberhard, another 6-6 junior forward, is averaging 10.7 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds.

Sacramento State is shooting 45 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from 3-point range. The Hornets had been struggling from beyond the arc before making 9 of 13 (69.2 percent) against North Dakota.

Southeast begins its conference schedule at home against defending OVC tournament champion Morehead State on Wednesday.