Bradley (9-2) vs. Southeast Missouri (6-5)

Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Tipoff: 1 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series History: Bradley leads, 7-2
Last Meeting: BU 84, SEMO 78 (Nov. 18, 2016 / Peoria, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (63-107 overall; 26-47 at SEMO; 11-21 OVC). Brian Wardle (27-49 overall; 27-49 at Bradley).

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: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Host Bradley 
Southeast Missouri (6-5) plays host to Bradley (9-2) in a Wednesday afternoon matinee. Tip-off is 1 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

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

Series History
Bradley owns a 7-2 advantage in its overall series against Southeast. The Braves have won each of the last five meetings between these teams. BU makes a trip to Cape Girardeau for just the second time. The Braves fell to the Redhawks, 79-71, in their only visit to the Show Me Center on Nov. 26, 1997. BU beat Southeast, 84-78, on Nov. 18, 2016 in Peoria, Illinois.

Battle of the Most Improved
Southeast and Bradley were among the nation's most improved NCAA Division I basketball teams in 2016-17. The Redhawks ranked 24th and the Braves rounded out the country's top 25 most improved squads. Southeast went from 5-24 in 2015-16 to 15-18 in 2016-17, while BU went from 5-27 in 2015-16 to 13-20 in 2016-17. Redhawks head coach Rick Ray and Braves head coach Brian Wardle are both in their third year with their respective programs.

Early Tip Time
Southeast's 1 p.m., CT, tip time against Bradley is its earliest of the season. Wednesday marks the third time the Redhawks play an afternoon game this year. Southeast is 1-1 in day games, beating Cal State Northridge (74-59, Nov. 21) and falling to Montana State (88-82, Nov. 22) at the Cancun Challenge. Both of those games started at 2 p.m., CT.

Redhawk Rewind
The Redhawks saw their season-long four-game winning streak end with a 89-71 loss at Big 12 Conference member Kansas State (Dec. 16). Southeast returned from a week break for final exams to face the Wildcats. K-State shot a scorching 62.5 percent (35-of-56) from the field and scored 44 points inside the paint to key the victory. The Redhawks fell to 0-2 all-time against the Wildcats.

Against the Missouri Valley
Wednesday's game against Bradley marks Southeast's 298th meeting with a Missouri Valley Conference team. Bradley is the third MVC school the Redhawks play this season. Southeast dropped a 66-50 decision at Evansville on Nov. 16 and beat Southern Illinois, 75-69, on Dec. 9. The Redhawks are 109-189 all-time against the MVC. That record includes a 46-69 mark against SIU, 0-1 record vs. Drake, 5-10 record vs. Evansville, 2-7 mark vs. Bradley, 1-8 record vs. Illinois State, 0-2 record vs. Indiana State and a 55-92 mark vs. Missouri State. 

Quick Turnaround
Southeast wraps up its 13-game non-conference slate with two games in three days this week. After Wednesday's meeting with Bradley, the Redhawks head two hours north on Interstate 55 to face Saint Louis at 6 p.m., CT, Friday. Southeast meets the Billikens for the first time in four years. The Redhawks then open Ohio Valley Conference play at home against Belmont following the Christmas holiday on Dec. 28.

Carpenter is Back
Freshman center Justin Carpenter returned to the starting lineup at Kansas State (Dec. 16). Carpenter scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists and had a steal in 27 minutes. He missed the Redhawks game at Southern Illinois (Dec. 9) with a concussion.

Mahoney Clears 700 Points
Denzel Mahoney surpassed 700 points in his career when he scored 23 to lead Southeast in a 89-71 loss at Kansas State (Dec. 16). Mahoney scored 20 of his points in the first half and shot 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line for the game. He now has 706 points and a 16 points per game average in his two-year career.

Mr. Perfect
Denzel Mahoney, who leads Southeast and ranks ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference in free throw percentage (.826) shot a perfect 9-of-9 free throws at Kansas State (Dec. 16). It marked the second time this season and fifth in his career where Mahoney went perfect at the free throw line with a minimum of five free throw attempts in a game.

Dalton Clears 100 Assists
With his four assists at Kansas State (Dec. 16), Jonathan Dalton went over 100 assists in his Southeast career. Dalton currently has 60 assists this season and 101 in his career.

OVC Scoring Leader
Sophomore guard/forward Denzel Mahoney leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 19.4 points a game. Mahoney is also 15th among league individuals in field goal percentage (.535), ninth in free throw percentage (.826), third in 3-point field goal percentage (.486), and 17th in minutes played (29.4 mpg). He has scored double figures a total of 37 times in his career.

Last Time it Happened
The last Southeast player to finish a season as the Ohio Valley Conference scoring leader was Roy Booker in 2005-06. Booker averaged 22 points per game and drained 73 three- pointers in 27 games that year. Since then, the closest the Redhawks came to having a player lead the league in scoring was 2013-14 when cousins Tyler Stone (19.3 ppg) and Jarekious Bradley (19 ppg) ranked second and third, respectively.

Home Cooking
Southeast won 10 of its last 13 games at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks went 10-4 overall and 6-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play on their homecourt last season. It was Southeast's best home record since 2011-12 (10-4). The Redhawks are 16-15 at home under head coach Rick Ray. Southeast goes for its third-straight home win when it faces Bradley Wednesday. 

Simmons Streak
Daniel Simmons moved to second on the team in scoring following his strong effort at Kansas State (Dec. 16). Simmons scored 17 points and matched a career-high five 3-pointers made in 33 minutes off the bench. He has scored double figures in seven-straight contests, raising his scoring average from 10.6 to 12.5 points per game during that stretch.  

On the Road
Southeast is 3-4 outside of Cape Girardeau this season. The Redhawks won two in a row on the road beating North Carolina Central, 86-77, on Dec. 2 and Southern Illinois, 75-69, on Dec. 9. It marked the first time Southeast posted back-to-back true road victories since 2012-13 (83-67, at New Orleans; 61-58, at Southeastern Louisiana).

Strong December
The Redhawks opened the month of December with a 3-0 record after beating both North Carolina Central (Dec. 2) and Southern Illinois (Dec. 9) on the road, and UMKC (Dec. 6) at home. Southeast scored 86 or more points twice in that span. It was the first time the Redhawks started December with a 3-0 record since 1998-99.

Dalton Third in Assist/Turnover Ratio
Point guard Jonathan Dalton enters the week ranked third in the Ohio Valley Conference in assist/turnover ratio. Dalton has a team-high 60 assists to 21 turnovers for a 2.9 ratio through 11 games. He dished out five or more assists eight times and went turnover free on four occasions this season. Dalton ranks third in the league with 5.5 assists per contest.

Kowalski Sidelined with Hamstring Injury
Redshirt-freshman guard Ray Kowalski did not play at Kansas State (Dec. 16) due to a hamstring injury. Kowalski averaged 5.7 points per game and knocked down 11 three-pointers in 10 games prior to his injury. His status for Wednesday is undetermined at this time.

Bombs Away
The Redhawks made 10 or more 3-pointers in four-straight games. Southeast recently matched a season-high 12 threes when it hit 12-of-26 (.462) at Southern Illinois (Dec. 9). The Redhawks made six of their 3-pointers in the first half. Southeast shot 50.5 percent (45-of-89) from beyond the arc over its last four contests. The Redhawks rank second in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .401 three-point field goal percentage.

OVC Rankings
The Redhawks rank among the top five in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense (4th, 78.0 ppg), free throw percentage (5th, .742), field goal percentage (4th, .469), 3-point field goal percentage (2nd, .401), assists (5th, 14.8 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (2nd, 1.3). Individually, Denzel Mahoney leads the league in scoring (19.4 ppg), Justin Carpenter is third in field goal percentage (.589) and Jonathan Dalton is third in assists (5.5 apg), and third in assist/turnover ratio (2.9).

Active Streaks
Denzel Mahoney has started 44-consecutive games. Mahoney scored in 43 contests during his college career. He opened the season with 21 points against Missouri Baptist (Nov. 10) and 25 at Louisiana Tech (Nov. 13), and recently scored a career-high 27 vs. Hannibal-LaGrange (Nov. 28).