Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team will try to add to winning streak at home

~ The Redhawks carry a five-game winning streak into Saturday's home game vs. Flames

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team may be riding a five-game winning streak, but the Redhawks will face one of their biggest tests so far this season Saturday.

The Redhawks (7-2) return to the Show Me Center for the first time since a 109-64 rout of NAIA-opponent Mid-Continent on Nov. 22.

Southeast will host Illinois-Chicago in a 7 p.m. tipoff.

"I think Illinois-Chicago is probably going to be the toughest team that we have faced so far with the exception of Saint Louis," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "So we're going to find out real quick where we are this Saturday because they're going to bring in a very experienced team, a very good team. Their record is not any indication of how good they are because they've had a tough schedule."

The Flames (3-6) beat Southeast 56-45 last year. Southeast's biggest task against Illinois-Chicago will be to contain 6-5 guard Kelsey Barlow, who sat out last season after transferring from Purdue. He averages 16.6 points per game and has scored more than 30 points twice this season.

"He could go off for 35 points on any given night, and he has been able to do that," Nutt said. "The thing that creates the most problems for us is that he really is a guy that can [play] dribble-drive basketball, and we've got to do a good job of containing the dribble and making sure that we're in a team defensive mindset for Saturday because those guys can really find ways to score the basketball. They're very athletic, they get to the basket, they're big and strong inside. But Barlow makes them go."

Nutt plans to give Antonious Cleveland the task of guarding Barlow to start the game.

Also scoring double-figures for the Flames is 6-4 guard Marc Brown, who is averaging 13.4 points a game.

Southeast will try to continue where it left off on the offensive end. The Redhawks are scoring 87.4 points a game.

There are five Redhawks averaging double-figures.

Jarekious Bradley averages 18.6 points and 7.6 rebounds and, Nino Johnson averages 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds. Darrian Gray is scoring 11 points per game and Cleveland is averaging 10.9.

Tyler Stone paces the Redhawks, nearly averaging a double-double with 19.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

"Well, I think the biggest thing is that Tyler Stone is absolutely playing the way we want him to play," Nutt said. "Very patient, trying to find an extra pass, trying to be the best teammate that he can be. Nine times out of 10 opponents are trying to stop him.

"He's a guy that scores 20 points a game on the average and sometimes they double and triple team him. He has been doing a good job of getting everybody else involved and trying to find the open man, the open pass, the extra pass, and he's been really playing well for us. He and Lucas (Nutt) have really been our most consistent guys right now in terms of getting everybody where they need to be, and I'm really proud of their leadership right now."