Semoball

Southeast Missouri State men's basketball eyes division crown ahead of rivalry showdown vs. Murray State

Southeast Missouri State's Trey Kellum shoots the ball against UT Martin on Saturday at the Show Me Center. SEMO hosts Murray State on Thursday.
Andrew J. Whitaker

With two games remaining in the regular season, the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team finds itself at a unique crossroads, where the line between great and mediocre is razor thin.

The Redhawks have an opportunity to claim the Ohio Valley Conference West Division title and receive a double bye in the OVC tournament, while on the other hand, they could miss the postseason altogether.

That's the nature of the OVC this season, as only one game separates the league's second and eighth-place teams heading into the final week of play.

It all begins taking shape at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, when the Redhawks square off against rival Murray State in a crucial matchup at the Show Me Center.

Following SEMO's 90-61 win over visiting UT Martin on Saturday, Redhawks coach Rick Ray talked about how pleased he was to see his team competing in a meaningful game at the end of the season. The accomplishment for Southeast is in stark contrast to last year's campaign, in which the Redhawks were able to muster only five victories.

"We're not the defensive team that I want us to be, but our defensive lapses have been covered up by our ability to shoot the ball," Ray said. "... I think oftentimes it's hard to get guys to make that extra pass because they're always not sure they're going to get a chance or an opportunity to get the ball back, but I think our team has really taken on an unselfish attitude with sharing the basketball.

"When you've got so many weapons and options that can make shots and create, it makes it a little easier to do that."

Southeast (13-16, 8-6 OVC) and MSU (14-14, 8-6) are currently in a three-way tie atop the West Division, along with UTM. If the Redhawks win out, they can claim the divisional title and thus clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. That would require a win over the Racers on Thursday and a victory against visiting Austin Peay on Saturday. A win or an APSU loss -- the Governors face host UTM on Thursday -- can secure SEMO's berth in the tourney.

Southeast will also be looking at putting the finishing touches on its first season sweep of the Racers in 74 years. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, Trey Kellum hit two free throws in the final seconds to give the Redhawks a 75-74 win on Jan. 26 in Murray, Kentucky.

MSU is coming off an 82-65 loss against visiting Eastern Illinois on Saturday, a game in which the Racers lost senior Damarcus Croaker to a season-ending injury (broken metatarsal) in the first minute. Croaker is fourth on the team with 10.5 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds per game.

More than anything, the Racers will likely miss Croaker's defensive presence in guarding the opposing team's top scorer. Seniors Gee McGhee and Bryce Jones will step in to fill that role, as McGhee moves into the starting lineup.

"He's really hurt us every time that we've played them, so he's more than capable of filling in for Croaker," Ray said of McGhee. "I'm just sure it hurts their depth [without Croaker], and then he's also a dynamic defender. He's a guy that can guard Antonius Cleveland and keep him in front of him because of his elite athleticism."

Southeast will once again be tasked with slowing down junior guard Jonathan Stark, whose 21.2 ppg leads the conference. Stark is also averaging a team-high 5.5 assists per game and is shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range.

In the previous meeting between the two teams, the Redhawks deployed a 1-3-1 half-court trap to corral Stark. The defensive adjustment worked before the Racers figured it out. Stark finished with a game-high 24 points on 12-of-20 shooting (60 percent).

"At the end of the day, our 1-3-1 defense saved us. ... I think we've got to be careful about the success that we had at Murray State and understand that they've got coaches. They watch film. They develop players," Ray said. "I think they'll be more prepared for our 1-3-1, so I don't think we can just throw our 1-3-1 defense out there and expect them to have the same problems that they had in the first game."

Junior Terrell Miller, a 6-foot-8 forward, is averaging 16.5 points and a team-leading 8.2 rebounds per game for MSU, while Jones is producing 11.8 ppg.

The Racers rank first in the conference in scoring (81.0 ppg) but are giving up 76.9 ppg, which ranks third-to-last in the league.

SEMO's Denzel Mahoney claimed his league-high fifth OVC Freshman of the Week award earlier this week after scoring 17 points in Saturday's win. He's missed out on the weekly honor only once in the last six weeks.

Against the Racers earlier this season, Mahoney matched his career high with a 23-point performance, during which he shot 9 of 15 from the floor and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. He's started all 29 games this season and is averaging a team-leading 16.6 ppg in conference play.

"It just boils down to coach-ability. ... I've been around some head coaches and assistant coaches that are really good coaches and more importantly are really good at skill development, and that's what I hang my hat on. But it doesn't mean anything if you don't have a willing learner," Ray said. "I think our guys, referring to Denzel, they're willing learners. If they're not willing learners and willing workers, no matter how much knowledge we have about getting them better as an individual player, it doesn't mean anything."

Senior Antonius Cleveland leads the Redhawks in scoring with 17.0 ppg, which ranks sixth in the OVC. He's shooting 55.4 percent from the field, including 41.3 percent from beyond the arc, and is hauling in an average of 4.8 rpg. Cleveland will tie SEMO's all-time record for career starts (106) when he takes the court for tonight's game.

Kellum, a 6-7 senior forward, is also averaging double-figure scoring with 11.5 ppg to go along with a team-high 6.2 rpg.

Junior forward Milos Vranes returned to practice Wednesday for the Redhawks after missing Saturday's game with strep throat. He's expected to be available for tonight's game in a limited capacity.

"I'm sure fatigue is going to play a factor because he hasn't played basketball in five days, and the first thing that goes on you is wind," Ray said. "I think we'll be able to throw him out there, but how he responds to being out there and how long he can play and things like that, that's yet to be determined. But he should be available for us to at least be able to play him."

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