Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team will host Harris-Stowe tonight

~ The Southeast men open their regular season home schedule against Harris-Stowe

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team will be an overwhelming favorite to pick up its first win today.

But the Redhawks, who had a strong showing during Friday's season-opening 83-68 loss at the University of Missouri, are taking nothing for granted.

Southeast plans to give NAIA opponent Harris-Stowe plenty of respect when the Redhawks and Hornets tip off at 7 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

It will be the Redhawks' only home date among their first four games. Southeast visits Bradley on Wednesday and Oregon on Sunday before returning to the Show Me Center for two contests next week.

"We're taking no one lightly," said sophomore forward Tyler Stone, who led the Redhawks with 18 points at Missouri. "We're going to bring everything."

"We learned our lesson," said senior guard Marcus Brister, alluding to last week's exhibition loss to Division II Harding.

Harris-Stowe, from St. Louis, is off to a 3-2 start. The Hornets lost 76-49 at Murray State on Friday in what served as the regular-season opener for the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Racers but as an exhibition for Harris-Stowe.

Today's contest is also an exhibition for the Hornets, who went 12-20 overall and 6-8 in the American Midwest Conference last year. They finished fourth in the eight-team league and are picked third this season after returning all of their players.

The Hornets are led by first-team all-conference performer Terry Hollins, a 6-foot-2 senior guard who averaged 14.2 points and 4.2 assists per game last season.

Robert Mumphard, a 6-3 senior guard, and 6-7 junior forward Kevin Kramer averaged 11.8 and 11.5 points, respectively.

Senior guard Donald Davis, a former high school and junior college teammate of Southeast all-OVC senior forward Leon Powell, averaged 7.8 points and 3.6 assists.

Hollins is Harris-Stowe's top scorer so far this year with an 18.6 average. He has hit 10 of 17 3-pointers (58.8 percent). Kramer is averaging 13.4 points.

Harris-Stowe trailed Murray State just 33-26 at halftime, which suggests the Hornets might not go down easy today.

"I don't want us to be a team that plays to the level of competition," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "We've got to play. I think every night out you have to get better.

"I saw a lot of good things that we did at Missouri. We want to build on that."

Today's game will mark Southeast's first appearance on the Show Me Center's new court that recently was installed.

Powell, who missed the Missouri game with a sprained knee, could see action but there is a good chance Nutt will hold him out until Wednesday's contest at Bradley.