Southeast Missouri (4-5) vs. Northern Kentucky (6-3)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2016
Tip-Off: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series History: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: NKU 79, SEMO 69 (Dec. 19, 2015 / Highland Heights, Ky.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (46-89 overall; 9-29 at SEMO; 2-14 OVC). John Brannen (15-24 overall; 15-24 at NKU).

Media Coverage
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM, Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean, Jess Bolen)
Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Close Out Homestand
Southeast Missouri (4-5) rounds out a brief two-game homestand when it plays host to Northern Kentucky (6-3) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM with Erik Sean and Jess Bolen calling the action from the Show Me Center. Video can be accessed online at the OVC Digital Network. Live stats are available at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Winter Wonderland
Rowdy's Winter Wonderland is before Southeast's matchup with Northern Kentucky. Doors at the Show Me Center open at 12:30 p.m. The special event includes activities, arts, crafts and games, an appearance by Santa and appearances by characters from the movie Frozen. Buy one adult ticket and get one child ticket FREE (Children ages 14 and under. Ticket includes entry to the basketball game and Rowdy's Winter Wonderland).

Series History
The Redhawks hook up with Horizon League member Northern Kentucky for the third time Saturday. NKU returns the trip to Cape Girardeau on the back end of a home-and-home series. The Norse play at the Show Me Center for the first time this year. Each team has a win in the series with Southeast beating NKU, 79-65, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Nov. 29, 2013 and the Norse beating the Redhawks, 79-69, in Highland Heights, Kentucky on Dec. 19, 2015.

Against the Horizon League
Northern Kentucky represents the seventh different conference on Southeast's non-league schedule this season. NKU is out of the Horizon League. The Redhawks are 9-7 all-time against the Horizon League, holding a 1-1 record vs. Cleveland State, a 2-2 mark vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay, a 5-1 record vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a 1-1 mark vs. NKU and an 0-2 record vs. Illinois-Chicago.

Last Time vs. Northern Kentucky
Southeast led just one time in a 79-69 road loss to Northern Kentucky on Dec. 19, 2015. Joel Angus III's layup gave the Redhawks their only lead 47 seconds into the game. NKU made six 3-pointers and shot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half to key its win. Isiah Jones scored 21 points to lead four Redhawks with double figures in the scoring column. Angus and Antonius Cleveland added 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Kellum Surpasses 200 Career Rebounds
Forward Trey Kellum, who leads Southeast with 7.1 rebounds per game this season, went over 200 in his career against Missouri State (Dec. 7). Kellum had a team-high eight boards in that game and pulled down his 200th rebound with 15:59 left in the second half. Seven of his rebounds came in the final 20 minutes.

Two-Game Skid
The Redhawks are on a losing streak for the first time this season after dropping an 83-55 road contest at #10 Indiana (Dec. 4) and falling, 79-71, at home to Missouri State (Dec. 7). Southeast never had a lead in either of those contests.

Highly Active
Antonius Cleveland is second among Ohio Valley Conference active career leaders in points (1,152), rebounds (451) and steals (122). Cleveland also ranks third in assists (188) and blocks (55). Trey Kellum and Jamaal Calvin are  among the league's active career leaders, as well. Kellum is 13th in rebounds (206) and Calvin is 10th in assists (142), fifth in steals (73) and tied for seventh in 3-pointers made (90).

Major Improvement
Southeast has seen significant improvement in several areas over the course of its first eight games this season. Here are the jumps the Redhawks have made in the NCAA national statistics since the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
                                 2015-16    2016-17
Turnover Margin      191st (-0.2)    9th (+5.9)
Turnovers Forced     100th (13.6)    23rd (17.2)
Turnovers Per Game    286th (13.9)    35th (11.3)
Assist/Turnover Ratio    282nd (0.9)    48th (1.3)
Free Throw Percentage    331st (.641)    96th (.720)
 - 351 ranked

Pulling Rank
The Redhawks enter the week ranked among the top 30 NCAA Division I programs in turnover margin (9th, +5.9), total steals (16th, 81) and steals per game (19th, 9.0). Individually, Jamaal Calvin is seventh in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (30/6, 5.0) and Trey Kellum is 30th in offensive rebounds per game (3.5). Calvin and Kellum lead the Ohio Valley Conference in those categories, as well.

OVC Status
As a team, Southeast is among the top five in the Ohio Valley Conference in turnover margin (2nd), free throw percentage (4th, .720), fewest turnovers (5th, 102), steals per game (1st, 9.0), total assists (5th, 135), total steals (1st, 81), turnovers forced (2nd, 17.2), turnovers per game (2nd, 11.3) and assist/turnover ratio (3rd, 1.3). Tahj Eaddy (2nd in 3-Point FG percentage, .563), Jamaal Calvin (1st in assist/turnover ratio, 5.0; t4th in steals, 2.0 spg), Antonius Cleveland (10th in blocks, 1.0 bpg; 7th in scoring, 16.1 ppg), Trey Kellum (1st in offensive rebounds, 3.5 rpg; 11th in rebounding, 7.1 rpg) and Denzel Mahoney (13th in free throw percentage, .778) rank among league leaders.

Big Week Mahoney
True freshman guard Denzel Mahoney scored double figures in four-straight starts. A native of Oviedo, Florida, Mahoney averaged 16 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest in three games last week. He opened the week with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-14 field goals (57.1 pct.) at UMKC (Nov. 28). Mahoney followed that up with 12 points vs. Central Arkansas (Dec. 1) and rounded out the week with a team-high 16 points at #10 Indiana (Dec. 4). He had 12 of his points in the second half against the Hoosiers. Most recently, Mahoney dropped in 14 points vs. Missouri State (Dec. 7).

Freshman Charge
Denzel Mahoney currently ranks second among Ohio Valley Conference freshmen in scoring with 11.6 points per game this season. Mahoney ranks behind Eastern Kentucky's Asante Gist (13.9 ppg). He is presently 27th in the OVC in scoring.

Scoring Rise
Southeast is averaging 74.6 points a game through nine contests this season, a +7.6 improvement from where it finished last season (67 ppg). The Redhawks scored 83 or more points in three of their four wins this year. Southeast put up 80 or more points just four times in 2015-16.

Ahead of the Curve
The Redhawks, who won just five games in 2015-16, are one away from matching that win total. Southeast picked up its fourth victory with an 87-63 victory over Central Arkansas (Dec. 1). The Redhawks didn't get four wins until nearly halfway through their Ohio Valley Conference season a year ago (68-60, vs. UT Martin on Jan. 24, 2016).

Board Certified
Southeast, which outrebounded its opponent 10 times in 29 games last season, is nearly halfway to that mark. The Redhawks won the battle of the boards in four of their last seven contests and are averaging 32.2 rebounds per game, just 3.1 rebounds from where they finished in 2015-16 (35.3 rpg).

Turnover Free
Point guard Jamaal Calvin went his sixth game in nine starts without turning the ball over. Calvin leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks seventh in the nation in assist/turnover ratio. He has 30 assists and only six turnovers. Calvin has not turned the ball over in a span of 75 minutes over his last three starts.

Climbing the Ranks
Antonius Cleveland ranks among Southeast's all-time career leaders in scoring (14th, 1,152), free throws attempted (6th, 412), steals (5th, 122) and games started (5th, 85). Cleveland needs 85 more points to crack the Redhawks top-10 all-time scoring list.

Stealing the Show
The Redhawks leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 81 steals this season. Southeast is averaging nine per game. Jamaal Calvin (18), Antonius Cleveland (10), Milos Vranes (10) and Trey Kellum (9) have accounted for 58 percent of the team's steals.

First Home Loss
Southeast saw a three-game home winning streak end with a 79-71 loss to Missouri State (Dec. 7). The Redhawks wend undefeated in their first three games in Cape Girardeau for the first time when they won four in a row during the 2014-15 campaign.  

Balanced Scoring
The Redhawks had multiple double-digit scorers in all nine games this season. Most recently, Antonius Cleveland (20), Denzel Mahoney (14) and Trey Kellum (13) accomplished the feat vs. Missouri State (Dec. 7).

Up Next
Southeast breaks for final exams next week before opening Las Vegas Classic play at Missouri State on Dec. 17. The Redhawks also visit DePaul (Dec. 19) before heading to Las Vegas on Dec. 22-23.