Southeast Missouri (5-4) at Southern Illinois (4-3)

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2017
Tipoff: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Carbondale, Ill.
Arena: SIU Arena (8,339)
Series History: SIU leads, 69-45
Last Meeting: SIU 74, SEMO 50 (Dec. 2, 2015 / Carbondale, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (62-106 overall; 25-46 at SEMO; 11-21 OVC). Barry Hinson (288-226 overall; 83-86 at SIU).

Media Coverage
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM, Real Rock 99.3 FM (Rusty Hendricks)
Video: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Live Stats: SIUSalukis.com
Twitter: @SEMOMBB
Southeast Missouri Notes

Mississippi River Rivals 
Southeast Missouri (5-4) crosses the Mississippi River to face rival Southern Illinois (4-3) Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at SIU Arena.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM. Rusty Hendricks will call the action. Video can be accessed online at ESPN3/WatchESPN. Live stats are available at SIUSalukis.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOMBB.

Home-and-Home Renewed
Southeast and Southern Illinois renewed a home-and-home series after taking a year off. The Salukis will return the trip to Cape Girardeau next season. SIU beat the Redhawks, 74-50, the last time these teams met on Dec. 2, 2015 (Carbondale).

Series History
The Redhawks and Salukis hook up for the 115th time on the hardwood Saturday. Southern Illinois leads the all-time series, 69-45. Southeast lost in each of its last eight trips to Carbondale after last winning there on Dec. 4, 1982 (55-50). The Redhawks are 2-13 against SIU since they moved to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1991-92 and they have never beaten the Salukis in Carbondale during their Division I era.

Ray vs. Southern Illinois
Southeast faces Southern Illinois for the second time in three years under head coach Rick Ray. The Redhawks fell to the Salukis, 72-50, on Dec. 2, 2015 during Ray's first season at the Southeast helm. Ray is 1-6 all-time against Missouri Valley Conference schools as a head coach. The Redhawks 78-74 victory at Missouri State on Dec. 22, 2015 was his first career win at Southeast. 

Against the Missouri Valley
Southern Illinois is the second of three Missouri Valley Conference teams Southeast plays this season. The Redhawks, who fell to Evansville, 66-50, on Nov. 16, host Bradley (Dec. 20) during non-conference play. Southeast is 108-190 all-time against the MVC. That record includes a 45-69 mark against SIU, 0-1 record vs. Drake, 5-10 record vs. Evansville, 2-8 mark vs. Bradley, 1-8 record vs. Illinois State, 0-2 record vs. Indiana State and a 55-92 mark vs. Missouri State.

MVC Ties
Rick Ray's first NCAA Division I coaching job was at Indiana State. Ray was an assistant coach there from 1997-2004, helping ISU to consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. In 1999-2000, the Sycamores compiled a 14-4 record in the Missouri Valley Conference and won the regular-season title. ISU then won the MVC Tournament the following season. The Sycamores upset  #4 seed Oklahoma in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Ray was part of the ISU staff that defeated perennial power Indiana in back-to-back seasons. In addition, Ray was an assistant coach under former Southern Illinois head coach Matt Painter at Purdue from 2006-10.

Home State
Illinois is home to freshman Justin Carpenter, who presently leads Southeast in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and ranks fourth on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg). Carpenter has started each of the Redhawks last four games, scored double figures four times and leads the team with two double-doubles this year. He is from Mt. Carmel, which is located a little over two hours northeast of Carbondale. Carpenter last played at SIU Arena when his Mt. Carmel Golden Aces beat Marquette Catholic, 61-40, in the Class 2A Super-Sectional on Mar. 7, 2017. He scored 14 points in that game.

Former Redhawk 
Guard Eric McGill goes up against his former team Saturday. McGill began his college career at Southeast in 2015-16, where he averaged seven points and 2.4 rebounds in 27 games and 13 starts as a freshman. He knocked down 30 three-pointers, dished out 50 assists and collected 38 steals. McGill transferred to Panola College the following year before heading to Southern Illinois this season. He currently averages seven points a game and leads the Salukis with 14 steals and eight 3-pointers made.

Kowalski Notches Season-High
Ray Kowalski pitched in a season-high 16 points, including 12 from 3-point range in Southeast's win over UMKC (Dec. 6). Kowalski shot 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from downtown. His 16 points were more than he had in his previous four games combined (12).  

Three in a Row
Southeast won its third-straight game when it hung on for a 91-87 victory vs. UMKC Wednesday. The Redhawks are on their third winning streak of at least three games under head coach Rick Ray. It is Southeast's longest non-conference winning streak with Ray as its coach.

Above .500
Following its 91-87 victory over UMKC (Dec. 6), Southeast went above .500 for the second time this season. The Redhawks, who are 2-0 in December, enter the weekend with a 5-4 record. Southeast presently has the second-longest winning streak in the Ohio Valley Conference, as well. 

Wire to Wire
The Redhawks never trailed in each of their last two games -- at North Carolina Central (Dec. 2) and vs. UMKC (Dec. 6). Southeast last trailed an opponent at the 19:21 (35-34) mark of the second half against Hannibal-LaGrange (Nov. 28).

Over 80
Southeast scored more than 80 points for the sixth time in nine games this season when it beat UMKC, 91-87, on Dec. 6. The Redhawks 24-point victory (83-59) over Hannibal-LaGrange (Nov. 28) is presenty their largest of the year. That stands as Southeast's biggest margin of victory in a non-conference game since the Redhawks beat Central Arkansas, 87-63, on Dec. 1, 2016. 

Heating Up From Three
The Redhawks shot a combined 78.5 percent (22-of-28) from 3-point range over their last two games. Southeast shot a season-best 62.5 percent (10-of-16) at North Carolina Central (Dec. 2) before following that up with a 54.5 percent (12-of-22) four days later vs. UMKC (Dec. 6). The 12 threes against the Kangaroos marked a season-high. The last time the Redhawks shot 54.5 percent or better from 3-point range in back-to-back games was 2012-13 (60.6 percent at Austin Peay; 63.2 percent at Murray State). 

Atop the OVC
Denzel Mahoney enters Saturday's game as the Ohio Valley Conference's top scorer. Mahoney is averaging 19.1 points per game through nine starts this year. He scored over 20 points four times and reached double figures in eight contests.

Duffus Returns
Guard Dondre Duffus saw his first action of the season when he scored six points in 10 minutes off the bench vs. UMKC (Dec. 6). Duffus missed Southeast's last 28 games of 2016-17 due to a groin injury and was sidelined the first eight game of this season after undergoing a medical procedure. He played for the first time since Nov. 22, 2016. 

Laros Out
Center Mark Laros is expected to miss at least three weeks due to mononucleosis. Laros averaged 5.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in seven games and five starts prior to his illness. 

On the Rebound
Southeast has outrebounded its opponent in seven of its last eight games. The Redhawks own a +2.3 margin in rebounding this year, averaging 35.1 boards per contest to their opponents 32.8.

OVC Rankings
The Redhawks rank among the top five in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense (4th, 79.1 ppg), scoring margin (5th, +3.8), free throw percentage (4th, .746), field goal percentage (4th, .475), 3-point field goal percentage (2nd, .387), 3-point field goal percentage defense (5th, .353), rebounding defense (5th, 32.8 rpg), rebounding margin (5th, +2.3), assists (5th, 15.3 apg), assist/turnover ratio (2nd, 1.3) and defensive rebound percentage (3rd, .741). Individually, Denzel Mahoney leads the league in scoring (19.1 ppg), Justin Carpenter is second in field goal percentage (.617), Jonathan Dalton is third in assists (5.8 apg), and second in assist/turnover ratio (2.9), and Mark Laros is fourth in offensive rebounds (2.6 rpg).

Active Streaks
Denzel Mahoney has started 42-consecutive games. Mahoney scored in 41 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).