Southeast Missouri (12-12, 3-7 OVC) at Eastern Illinois (9-14, 6-5 OVC)

Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Site: Lantz Arena (5,300)
Series: Southeast leads, 24-22
Head Coaches: Dickey Nutt (250-276 overall; 61-89 at Southeast; 29-49 OVC). Jay Spoonhour (126-68 overall; 20-35 at EIU; 12-16 OVC). 


Media Coverage
Radio: ESPN 92.9 FM; Real Rock 99.3 FM. Todd Bonacki, Play-by-Play
Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: EIUPanthers.com
Twitter Updates: @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri

Redhawks Conclude Road Stretch
Southeast Missouri (12-12, 3-7) ends a three-game road trip when it visits Eastern Illinois (9-14, 6-5) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., CT, at Lantz Arena.

Follow the Action
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM. Todd Bonacki will call the action. Video will be available online at the OVC Digital Network. Live stats can be accessed at EIUPanthers.com.

Road Warriors
The Redhawks are on a three-game road stretch to open the second half of Ohio Valley Conference play. After Saturday's matchup, Southeast returns home for four of its final five games of the regular season. The Redhawks are 6-9 outside of Cape Girardeau and 1-5 on the road in OVC action this season.

Series History
Southeast holds a 24-22 edge in its all-time series against Eastern Illinois. The Redhawks have won six of the last eight meetings with the Panthers. EIU beat Southeast, 77-74, in Cape Girardeau on Jan. 25.

Tough Luck
The Redhawks fell victim to a game-winning or game-tying shot in the final second of regulation for the second time in less than a week. Southeast led, 72-62, with 3:57 left before Eastern Kentucky used a 17-6 run to pull off its come-from-behind win. Glenn Cosey made two free throws to tie the game at 76-76 and banked in the game-winning three-pointer with one second left. Four days later, Keaton Jackson made a layup with 0.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game (79-79) and send it to overtime. SIU Edwardsville went on to win, 93-88.

Keeping it Close
Southeast enters Saturday's matinee at Eastern Illinois looking to snap a three-game losing streak in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Redhawks lost to the Panthers, 74-77, on Jan. 25; Eastern Kentucky, 79-78, on Feb. 1; and, SIU Edwardsville, 93-88 in overtime, on Feb. 6. All three of those losses were by no more than five points.

Stone Goes Off
Forward Tyler Stone poured in a career-high 37 points at SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 6). A native of Memphis, Tenn., Stone made 15-of-19 field goals and a near-perfect 6-of-7 free throws, while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds against the Cougars. It marked the third time he scored 30 or more points in a game during his career. Stone's 37 points are the most in a game by a Southeast player since Kenard Moore finished with 36 vs. Northern Illinois on Feb. 21, 2009.

McRoberts Out for Two Games
The Redhawks are without reserve Paul McRoberts this week. McRoberts is out for two games with a foot injury. He averaged 10 points per game off the bench in two games for Southeast last week. McRoberts matched a season-high 16 points against Kansas City (Jan. 29), making a perfect 6-of-6 field goals in that game. He shot 80 percent (8-of-10) from the field, dished out four assists and had two steals on the week.

Wire to Wire
Southeast and SIU Edwardsville went back-and-forth in a game that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes Thursday night. The Redhawks led by as many as eight points when Jarekious Bradley completed a three-point play with 12:32 left. SIUE never got ahead of the Redhawks over the final 12-plus minutes in regulation, but tied the game up on four occasions in the last 2:29. Once SIUE went to overtime, it did not miss for the first 4:43 of the period. The Cougars shot 80 percent (4-of-5) from the field and outscored the Redhawks, 14-9, in overtime to nail down their eighth win at home. SIUE beat both the Preseason Ohio Valley Conference West Division favorites (Southeast, Murray State) on its homecourt this year.

Start Me Up
Lucas Nutt will take the floor for his 99th career start at Eastern Illinois Saturday. Nutt is tied for second with former teammate Marland Smith in games started at Southeast. Derek Winans currently holds the record with 101 starts from 2001-05. Nutt has started 23 games this season.

OVC Update
Southeast is looking to gain some ground in the Ohio Valley Conference standings where it currently sits 10th overall. The Redhawks are 12-12 overall and 3-7 in OVC play with six games left. Southeast, which returns to Cape Girardeau for four of its final five contests following Saturday's matchup at Eastern Illinois, has made the eight-team OVC Tournament each of the last three years under head coach Dickey Nutt.

Striking Distance
The Redhawks had a chance to tie the game in overtime during their latest loss at SIU Edwardsville. After Tyler Stone made a three-pointer to cut the Cougars lead to 91-88 with 48 seconds left, Jarekious Bradley attempted a three from the top of the arc that bounced off the rim. Donivine Stewart then made two free throws with five seconds to secure the 93-88 victory. Bradley played Thursday's game with a heavily-wrapped shooting hand after jamming his thumb earlier in the week.

Chalk Up Another
Lucas Nutt has scored double figures in four-straight starts. Most recently, Nutt scored 10 points and had 10 assists at SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 6). It was his third point-assist double-double this season. Nutt shot 4-of-9 from the field and knocked down two three-pointers. He finished with 10 or more assists in a game for the fourth time in 2013-14.

A Look Back
Reggie Smith scored a game-high 23 points to lead Eastern Illinois to a 77-74 win over Southeast on Jan. 25 in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks simply couldn't get going in their first meeting with the Panthers this season. Down, 20-19, Southeast scored just one point in a period of 7:27. EIU took advantage of that cold spell and used a 17-1 run to take a 37-20 lead with 3:20 left in the first half. The Redhawks managed to cut the Panthers lead to three (75-72) on Jarekious Bradley's three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining, but that was as close as they would get. Southeast shot just 19 percent (4-of-21) from three-point range in that game.

About Eastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois is second in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division with an overall record of 9-14 and 6-5 in league play. The Panthers enter Saturday's contest on a two-game winning streak. EIU, winners in three of its last four games, is led by Reggie Smith's 13.4 points per game. Smith is also averaging over 15 points against OVC foes. The Panthers are 11th in the OVC in scoring, averaging 66.7 points a game. EIU is also second in the league in blocked shots (112). The Panthers are 6-6 at Lantz Arena this year.

Nutt Breaks Southeast's Career Assists Record
Senior point guard Lucas Nutt broke Southeast's all-time career assists record when he dished out a game and season-high 11 vs. Kansas City (Jan. 29). Nutt officially broke the record when he passed the ball to Tyler Stone, who then threw down a dunk with 5:28 left in the game. His 559 assists surpassed Dwayne Rutherford's previous record of 541 from 1986-90. Nutt is the Ohio Valley Conference's active career assists leader.

Another Milestone
On the same night that his son broke Southeast's all-time career assists record, Dickey Nutt picked up his 250th win as a head coach. Nutt is 250-274 in 18 seasons at the NCAA Division I level. That mark includes a 61-87 record in five years at Southeast. Nutt has coached a total of 524 games in his career.

Father-Son Combos
Southeast Missouri's Dickey Nutt is one of 20 head coaches that currently coaches his son in NCAA Division I basketball. Here is a complete list of those combinations:
School                        Father                        Son(s)
South Florida             Stan Heath                 Josh Heath
Kansas                       Bill Self                      Tyler Self
Creighton                   Greg McDermott        Doug McDermott
Liberty                        Dale Layer                 Ethan Layer
UC Davis                   Jim Les                       Tyler Les
Canisius                    Jim Baron                    Billy Baron
Bowling Green           Louis Orr                    Chauncey Orr
Morgan State             Todd Bozeman           Blake Bozeman
Evansville                   Marty Simmons         Blake Simmons
New Mexico               Craig Neal                  Cullen Neal
Southeast Missouri    Dickey Nutt                Lucas Nutt
UCLA                         Steve Alford               Bryce & Kory Alford
Florida                        Billy Donovan            Billy Donovan
Incarnate Word          Ken Burmeister          Sam Burmeister
Southern                    Roman Banks            Tre'Lun Banks
Western Illinois          Jim Molinari                Billy Molinari
Georgia State            Ron Hunter                 R.J. Hunter
UL Monroe                Keith Richard              Lance Richard
Utah Valley                Dick Hunsaker            Holton Hunsaker
CS Bakersfield          Rod Barnes                Brandon Barnes