After picking up back-to-back wins at home last week, the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team is starting to find its rhythm.
And the timing feels just right.
The Redhawks are 9-13 overall and 4-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and they'll begin a three-game road trip against Murray State (11-10, 5-2 OVC) at 7 p.m. today at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Southeast is coming off a 79-76 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday and an 83-71 win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday, a pair of games that were played without senior guard Jamaal Calvin, who has been sidelined due to a sprained foot. Calvin's status for tonight's game wasn't confirmed by press time.
The Redhawks improved to 8-2 at the Show Me Center but have yet to figure things out away from their home court.
Southeast is 1-11 away from home and has lost 10 straight games outside of Cape Girardeau, which bodes well for a Racers squad that's 7-1 on its home floor.
The Redhawks have a winning percentage of only .263 at the CFSB Center but have had more success there than any other team. SEMO's last win in Murray came on March 2, 2013, in an 84-68 decision.
MSU has won six of its last eight games but enters today's matchup after dropping an 84-81 decision in overtime Saturday at Austin Peay. The Racers' only other OVC loss was a 71-67 decision at Tennessee Tech. They have conference wins over Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Kentucky.
Jonathan Stark, a junior transfer from Tulane, leads the team and is second in the conference with 21.0 points per game. The 6-foot guard is one of the top 3-point shooters in the OVC, averaging 41.4 percent, and is second in the league with 5.5 assists per game.
Terrell Miller Jr., a 6-8 forward, is generating 15.1 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game for MSU. Miller is shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range on a Racers team that has attempted more 3-pointers (536) than any other team in the conference.
Senior Bryce Jones is averaging 12.9 points and 3.3 assists per game for MSU, while senior Damarcus Croaker is producing 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. As a team, the Racers are averaging 80.0 ppg and are giving up 76.0 ppg.
The Redhawks have received a welcome boost thanks to the emergence of a pair of freshmen in Denzel Mahoney and Tahj Eaddy.
Mahoney was named OVC Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row after scoring a game-high 20 points against SIUE. In a pair of wins last week, Mahoney was 4 of 8 from 3-point range and was 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. Eaddy got two starts in place of Calvin, scoring 28 combined points. He is second in the league in conference play with a free-throw percentage of 94.1 percent (16 of 17).
Senior Antonius Cleveland is averaging 17.5 ppg to lead the way for the Redhawks, who are scoring an average of 74.0 ppg. Mahoney is generating 12.4 ppg, while senior Trey Kellum is producing 11.7 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game.
Southeast is yielding an average of 74.4 ppg.
And the timing feels just right.
The Redhawks are 9-13 overall and 4-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and they'll begin a three-game road trip against Murray State (11-10, 5-2 OVC) at 7 p.m. today at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Southeast is coming off a 79-76 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday and an 83-71 win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday, a pair of games that were played without senior guard Jamaal Calvin, who has been sidelined due to a sprained foot. Calvin's status for tonight's game wasn't confirmed by press time.
The Redhawks improved to 8-2 at the Show Me Center but have yet to figure things out away from their home court.
Southeast is 1-11 away from home and has lost 10 straight games outside of Cape Girardeau, which bodes well for a Racers squad that's 7-1 on its home floor.
The Redhawks have a winning percentage of only .263 at the CFSB Center but have had more success there than any other team. SEMO's last win in Murray came on March 2, 2013, in an 84-68 decision.
MSU has won six of its last eight games but enters today's matchup after dropping an 84-81 decision in overtime Saturday at Austin Peay. The Racers' only other OVC loss was a 71-67 decision at Tennessee Tech. They have conference wins over Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Kentucky.
Jonathan Stark, a junior transfer from Tulane, leads the team and is second in the conference with 21.0 points per game. The 6-foot guard is one of the top 3-point shooters in the OVC, averaging 41.4 percent, and is second in the league with 5.5 assists per game.
Terrell Miller Jr., a 6-8 forward, is generating 15.1 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game for MSU. Miller is shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range on a Racers team that has attempted more 3-pointers (536) than any other team in the conference.
Senior Bryce Jones is averaging 12.9 points and 3.3 assists per game for MSU, while senior Damarcus Croaker is producing 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. As a team, the Racers are averaging 80.0 ppg and are giving up 76.0 ppg.
The Redhawks have received a welcome boost thanks to the emergence of a pair of freshmen in Denzel Mahoney and Tahj Eaddy.
Mahoney was named OVC Freshman of the Week for the second week in a row after scoring a game-high 20 points against SIUE. In a pair of wins last week, Mahoney was 4 of 8 from 3-point range and was 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. Eaddy got two starts in place of Calvin, scoring 28 combined points. He is second in the league in conference play with a free-throw percentage of 94.1 percent (16 of 17).
Senior Antonius Cleveland is averaging 17.5 ppg to lead the way for the Redhawks, who are scoring an average of 74.0 ppg. Mahoney is generating 12.4 ppg, while senior Trey Kellum is producing 11.7 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game.
Southeast is yielding an average of 74.4 ppg.
