Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team seeks first OVC win vs. Jacksonville State

The Jacksonville State men's basketball team set to visit the Show Me Center tonight for a 7:45 p.m. game doesn't bring with it a much better record than Southeast Missouri State.

But for the Redhawks (0-4 Ohio Valley Conference, 2-14 overall) to pick up their first OVC win and snap a four-game losing streak, they will have to earn it against a Gamecocks team that has 14 losses but nine by 10 points or fewer.

"The thing I take away from it is that they're not going to beat themselves," Southeast coach Rick Ray said, noting JSU only lost by seven to Alabama in overtime in its final non-conference tune-up. "I think they're first in the league as far as taking care of the basketball. They turn the ball over less than anybody else in our conference, so what that means to me is they're not going to beat themselves, and when you're not going to beat yourself, that means you've always got a chance to be in any ballgame."

The Gamecocks (5-14, 1-3) bring a three-game losing streak to Cape Girardeau. After defeating SIU Edwardsville in their conference opener, the Gamecocks lost to Eastern Illinois, Austin Peay and Murray State.

JSU's lost all eight of its road contests this season and has a 21-game road losing streak. The Gamecocks' last road win was at Alabama A&M on Nov. 25, 2014.

"From what I've seen on tape, I think that they're a very sound, fundamental basketball team," Ray said. "I think they do a really good job of helping. If anything they over help, so you've got to be really conscientious of not going there. I think they do a really good job of drawing charges on drives, so I think they're really good on their help-side defense.

"I'm concerned about our guys getting into the paint and being out of control and not jump stopping. I think the other thing that they do a really good job of is you're not going to get any sort of scoring opportunities or help-side situation on the first drive. What I think we've got to do is we've got to drive it or get a paint touch, and then once we get the ball back out from that first initial paint touch, then you start to see that second paint touch, and that's when I think you can have some success."

The Gamecocks average 67.9 points per game and give up an average of 71.5 points per game.

Sophomore guard Malcolm Drumwright leads JSU, averaging 15.1 points. He's started all 19 games and is shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and made 28 3-pointers at 37.8 percent. He's an 81.6 percent free-throw shooter for the Gamecocks, who are third in the OVC in free throws at 71.8 percent.

"I think Drumwright is a kid that can really score the basketball in a multitude of ways," Ray said. "I think he can create for himself off the bounce. I think he can catch and shoot. I think he's also a guy that can really kind of, if the shot clock's running down, which is hard to do, I think he's a guy that can just go get a bucket. I've been really impressed with the way he can score the basketball."

Guard JaQuail Townser and Drumwright rank eighth and 11th in the OVC in assists, averaging 3.6 and 3.3 apg, respectively. Townser averages 9.4 ppg and has connected on 27 of 79 3-pointers.

"He's a really unselfish guy, but a guy that can score the basketball," Ray said. "I think sometimes when you have guys who can score they tend to be a little bit selfish, but I think he's really unselfish but can also score."

Guard Erik Durham averages 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. He leads the team with 33 made 3s, shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the arc.

"This team is undersized and that concerns me because that means we're going to be closing out to guys that can score or create," Ray said."Their 4-man is really going to be like a 3-man. They're 5-man is really like a 4-man. And they've got three guards that can all score the basketball."

JSU boasts three players from Southeast Missouri in Cape Central graduate Andre Statam and Charleston graduates DelFincko Bogan and Greg Tucker.

Tucker, a junior transfer from Mineral Area College, has played in all 19 games and started the last eight. He's averaging 6.5 points.

The Redhawks had just seven players available in their 88-69 loss to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday after freshmen Eric McGill, Jaylin Stewart and Robby Dosier were suspended for the game for a violation of team rules. Ray said that is "still a fluid situation," and did not say if they'd be available vs. JSU.

Junior guard and leading scorer Antonius Cleveland is a game-time decision. Cleveland struggled in the Redhawks' last two games after injuring his right shooting wrist in the first weekend of OVC action.

He had an MRI Monday, and a decision will be made based on the results.

Cleveland, who's averaging 13.9 points and 6.7 rebounds, snapped a string of seven consecutive double-figure scoring games against EKU. He had four points on 1-of-8 shooting and just three rebounds.

"The past two games he's really struggled with his wrist, so we just want to make sure we're doing right by him and not putting him in a situation where he can't be successful," Ray said. "I think that he's really struggled being able to grasp the basketball so his rebounding numbers are real down, but his finishing numbers around the basket are really, really down.

"I think that wrist has bothered him more than he's letting on. He hasn't practiced this past week, so he's been not practicing and then just playing in games. *... The X-rays came back negative. He didn't have anything as far as like broken, so now we're just looking at the MRI for any sort of ligament damage."