Murray State (14-14, 8-6 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (13-16, 8-6 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Thursday, February 23, 2017
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center (7,000)
Series History: Murray State leads, 54-20
Last Meeting: SEMO 75, Murray State 74 (Jan. 26, 2017 / Murray, Ky.)
Head Coaches: Rick Ray (55-100 overall; 18-40 at SEMO; 10-20 OVC). Matt McMahon (31-27 overall; 31-27 at MSU; 18-11 OVC).

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

OVC West First-Place Showdown
Southeast Missouri (13-16, 8-6) hosts rival Murray State (14-14, 8-6) in a battle for first-place in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division Thursday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Thursday'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.

$5 Tickets
Southeast Athletics is offering $5 tickets for Thursday's matchup between Southeast and Murray State. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available for sale by calling the Athletics Ticket Office at (573) 651-2113 or visiting 1221 Broadway (next to Imo's Pizza). Tickets are also available online at GoSoutheast.com/five.

OVC Tournament Spot
If Southeast wins Thursday, it will lock down a spot for this year's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. As of now, Belmont and Morehead State have clinched. Southeast, Murray State, UT Martin, Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State are all battling for the final six spots. Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky and SIU Edwardsville are eliminated from postseason play. This year's tournament is Mar. 1-4 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tight Race
Belmont won its fourth Ohio Valley Conference Championship in five years and enters the final week of the season at 14-1 in league play. The Bruins will be the No. 1 seed (and receive a double bye to the semifinals) for the OVC Tournament. The rest of the field is jumbled as only one game separates second and eighth place entering the final week of play.

OVC West Division Title in Sight
If Southeast beats Murray State (Feb. 23) and Austin Peay (Feb. 25) this week, it will win the Ohio Valley Conference West Division title and grab the No. 2 seed (and receive a bye to the semifinals) for the OVC Tournament. The Redhawks are currently in a three-way tie for first in the OVC West with Murray State and UT Martin as all three teams are 8-6. In the event that Southeast ties with UT Martin, the Redhawks own the tiebreaker with its 6-2 record in OVC West Division play.

Winning OVC Record
The Redhawks are 8-6 in Ohio Valley Conference play with two games remaining. Southeast matched its most league wins in a season since the league split into divisions in 2012-13. The Redhawks best conference records were 8-8 (2012-13, 2013-14) since that time. Southeast last had a winning record in OVC play in 2011-12 (9-7).

Game of Implication
Ironically, Southeast's last game of major implication played at the Show Me Center was against Ohio Valley Conference leading and then-No. 14 Murray State on Feb. 12, 2000. That game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 7,241, the largest home attendance at the Show Me Center in school history. Although the Racers won that game, 77-60, Southeast garnered a share of the OVC regular-season title and went on to beat Murray State in the championship game of the OVC Tournament, and advance to the 2000 NCAA Tourney.

Series History
Rivals Southeast and Murray State hook up for the 75th time Thursday. MSU holds a 54-20 lead in the all-time series and is 41-9 against the Redhawks in Southeast's NCAA Division I era (since 1991-92). The Racers won 16 of the last 20 meetings in the series. Two of the last three games between these teams in Cape Girardeau went to overtime with MSU winning, 94-92, on Feb. 14, 2015 and Southeast winning, 118-115 (2 overtimes) on Mar. 1, 2014.

Something Else to Think About
Trey Kellum made two free throws with 5.6 seconds left to give Southeast a 75-74 win at Murray State (Jan. 26). That said, a win Thursday would give the Redhawks their first sweep of the Racers in a season in 74 years. Southeast last beat MSU twice in a season in 1942-43 (won, 46-42, at home; won, 36-29, away).

Cleveland Advances to Second Round of Dark Horse Dunker Competition
Two of the most electrifying dunkers in the Ohio Valley Conference, Southeast Missouri's Antonius Cleveland and Murray State's Demarcus Croaker, will face each other in the second round of the Dark Horse Dunker competition. Both players are in the running to compete in the State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship Final Four weekend in Phoenix. The field, which started at 16 finalists, is now down to eight. Quarterfinals voting is from Feb. 22-Mar. 1. Fans can vote using an interactive bracket by visiting DarkHorseDunker.com. The player with the most votes in each matchup will move on to the Final Four round. Fans can vote once per day on multiple devices (example: computer and phone = 2 votes).

OVC Tournament Talk
Should Southeast clinch a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, it will mark the 15th time the Redhawks head to the event. Southeast advanced to the postseason in five of the last six years, with its last appearance in 2015.

Divisional Play
Since the Ohio Valley Conference moved to divisions in 2012-13, Southeast has never won the West. The closest the Redhawks came to winning their division was when they finished second with an 8-8 mark in both 2012-13 and 2013-14. Southeast has never bypassed the first round or been higher than a No. 6 seed in the league's current merit-based tournament format.

Five for Mahoney
Guard Denzel Mahoney won his league-high fifth adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week award on Feb. 20. Mahoney won the honor for the fifth time in six weeks. He was one of five Southeast players to score double figures in a 90-61 win over UT Martin (Feb. 18). Mahoney pitched in 17 points on 5-of-11 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws. He also pulled down five rebounds, dished out four assists and had a steal in 30 minutes. Mahoney, the Redhawks second-leading scorer, reached double-digits in the scoring column for the 23rd time this season. Austin Peay's John Murry (Co-Player), Belmont's Evan Bradds (Co-Player) and Murray State's Jonathan Stark (Newcomer) rounded out this week's honorees.

Games Started
Antonius Cleveland will tie Southeast's all-time career record in games started when he takes the court against Murray State Thursday. Cleveland currently has 105 starts and is right behind Lucas Nutt (2009-14) who holds the record with 106 career starts.

Cleveland Reaches 1,500
Antonius Cleveland scored a game-high 21 points to key Southeast's latest 90-61 win over UT Martin (Feb. 18), and, as a result, reached 1,500 points in his career. Cleveland needs just seven more points to get 500 this season. Tyler Stone was the last Redhawk to get both 500 points in a season (578 in 2013-14) and 1,500 points in a career (1,546 from 2011-14).