CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri plays host to Lincoln University in exhibition play Saturday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center.

Admission is free for fans and at-will cash and non-perishable food donations for the Redhawk Food Pantry will be accepted. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM.

SEMO Probable Starters
DQ Nicholas, G
Oscar Kao, G
Skyler Hogan, G
Sage Tolbert, F
Darrious Agnew, F

2019-20 Southeast Missouri Basketball Season Outlook

Chemistry will be key for the 2019-20 Southeast Missouri basketball team as it works to develop and grow together this upcoming season.

SEMO again has an extremely talented roster and fifth-year head coach Rick Ray has been pleased with the gains the Redhawks have made during the offseason.

"I thought our guys came in with a really good mindset," said Ray. "We have to get our guys buying into their roles. We have enough talent, but we have to be a true team that has guys caring for each other and not worried about themselves individually."

The Redhawks 15-man roster, which consists of seven returnees, is loaded with athleticism and is ready to improve on its 10-21 overall record from last season.

SEMO brings back three starters and three of its top four scorers from the 2018-19 campaign. 

Guard Skyler Hogan ranked second on the team with 10.6 points per game, while Alex Caldwell and Isaiah Gable followed with 8.7 and 8.1 points per contest, respectively. That trio accounted for 35 percent of the Redhawks scoring output.

SEMO was picked 11th in the Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Poll selected by OVC Head Coaches and Communication Directors. Belmont was voted the 2019-20 favorite, while Murray State, Jacksonville State, Austin Peay and UT Martin rounded out the top five.

Here is a complete breakdown of the 2019-20 Redhawks:

Backcourt

Sophomore Alex Caldwell (Columbia, S.C.) and freshman DQ Nicholas (Atlanta, Ga.) are expected to interchange between the one and two-guard spots.

Caldwell is coming off a nice rookie season that saw him average 10.6 points as SEMO's third-leading scorer in 2018-19. He played in 24 games and made five starts at the point guard spot as a true freshman. Caldwell also ranked third on the team with 22 steals and shot 44.9 percent from the floor with 30 of his made field goals beyond the arc.

Similar in size and skill is Nicholas, who joins the Redhawks from Pennsylvania's Scotland Prep School.

Nicholas averaged 12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 25 minutes a game a year ago. He was part of a Scotland Prep team that went 36-2 and ranked #1 most of the season before falling to Brewster Academy in the national championship game.

Throughout preseason workouts, Caldwell and Nicholas have run point on separate teams and it is paying dividends in their preparation.

"As of right now, we are trying to keep it competitive and have Alex and DQ go at each other," said Ray. "That is good for each one of their developments. I think in terms of elite athleticism, those guys are really similar. They are more than capable of being able to guard bigger guys because of their athleticism."

Junior Oscar Kao (Tapei, Taiwan) adds to the depth at point guard.

Kao appeared in 20 games off the bench and averaged 3.3 points and 8.2 minutes per contest in that role a year ago. He shot 52.2 percent (24-of-46) from the field and drained 13-of-23 three-pointers for a 56.5 percent clip.

Perimeter

SEMO ranked third in the OVC in 3-point field goals made and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage last season. The Redhawks averaged 8.6 made threes a game en route to shooting 37 percent for the year.

Fifth-year senior and returning starter Skyler Hogan (Melbourne, Fla.) is back on the Redhawks perimeter.

A two-time OVC Newcomer of the Week, Hogan ranked second on the team with 10.6 points a game in 30 games and 27 starts. He was third on the team with 46 three-pointers made and ranked third on the team shooting 76.7 percent (33-of-43) at the free throw line. Hogan logged 26.3 minutes a game, second-most on the team.

"Skyler is a guy who can really make shots," said Ray. "He has to make sure when things don't go his way that it's par for the course. I thought Skyler had a good summer for us."

Junior Chris Harris (Antioch, Ill.), sophomores Nygal Russell (Houston, Texas) and Khalil Cuffee (Fairburn, Ga.), and freshmen Jordan Love (Durham, N.C.) and Jakob Medina (Chicago, Ill.) are other perimeter candidates.

Harris averaged 9.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 32 games and 14 starts at John A. Logan College in 2018-19. JALC went 27-5 overall, ranked fifth in the nation and claimed a share of the Great Rivers Athletic Conference title with Harris on its roster.

Returnees Russell and Cuffee saw playing time last season.

Russell played in 31 games and made nine starts, averaging 5.3 points per contest, while Cuffee saw action in 13 games off the bench.

Meanwhile, Love redshirted as a true freshman.

Medina, a walk-on, attended St. Patrick High School. He missed all but seven games of his senior year due to injury.

University of Nebraska transfer guard Nana Akenten (Bolingbrook, Ill.) filled SEMO's final scholarship on the 2019-20 roster, but will sit out the season due to NCAA Division I transfer regulations.

Frontcourt

Fifth-year senior Quatarrius Wilson (Mobile, Ala.) and sophomore Sage Tolbert (Richmond, Texas) are projected to start down low.

Wilson, who missed the 2018-19 campaign after transferring to SEMO from McNeese State, makes his debut in a Redhawk uniform. He earned Third-Team All-Southland Conference honors after averaging a double-double 10.9 points and 10.2 rebounds during his last season of competition in 2017-18.

"There are no other words to say for Quatarrius other than he is a grown man," commented Ray. "When you have the fact that he is bigger, stronger and faster, and that he's a grown man, and he has that competitive spirit and nose for the ball, it leads to us hopefully being a good team. He wants to be a guy that plays basketball beyond college."

Tolbert was SEMO's second-leading rebounder as a true freshman a year ago. He started 27 of 31 games and averaged 6.3 points and five rebounds. Tolbert also shot 45.6 percent (72-of-158) from the field and ranked second on the team with 18 blocks.

"Sage is a guy for us that I believe can have a really high ceiling because of all his size and athleticism," said Ray.

Junior Isaiah Gable (Greenville, Ohio) has the ability to play underneath the basket and knock down shots outside.

Gable led the Redhawks with 51 three-pointers and ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 8.3 points a game last season. He started 24 games and averaged  22.7 minutes per contest.

"I thought Isaiah had the best offseason of anybody on our team with the way he improved his body in the weight room, the way he worked on his individual game and the way he showed leadership," quoted Ray.

Newcomers Darrious Agnew (Starkville, Miss.) and Evan Morrison (Lee's Summit, Mo.) complete the 2019-20 squad.

Agnew comes to Cape Girardeau after spending the last two seasons at East Mississippi Community College.  He averaged 11.5 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds in his final season with the Lions in 2018-19.

A walk-on, Morrison saw action in 29 games off the bench at John Wood Community College a year ago.

Schedule

SEMO will play 31 games with 13 at the Show Me Center this upcoming 2019-20 season.

The Redhawks tip off the season at Southeastern Conference member Vanderbilt on Nov. 6.

SEMO hosts Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 10), The Citadel (Nov. 19) and Missouri S&T (Nov. 22) during its only home stand in non-conference action. 

The Citadel comes to Cape Girardeau on the back end of a home-and-home series which started a year ago. SEMO meets Purdue Fort Wayne for the third time. The Redhawks edged NCAA Division II affiliate Missouri S&T, 72-69, last season and hosts the 135th meeting between these teams in 2019-20. SEMO has won 13-straight games in its series with Missouri S&T.

After that, the Redhawks don't play at home until after Christmas.

SEMO will play seven games as part of its longest road stretch of the season with trips to five different states. The Redhawks face Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 27), Santa Clara (Nov. 29) and Denver (Nov. 30) in the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, California over Thanksgiving.

The Redhawks travel to Texas to complete a home-and-home series with Abilene Christian (Dec. 5). Two days later, SEMO will be at Missouri Valley Conference member Drake (Dec. 7) in Des Moines, Iowa.

SEMO heads to both Youngstown State (Dec. 15) and Big Ten Conference foe Ohio State (Dec. 17) for first-time matchups. The Buckeyes went 20-15 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. 

The Redhawks then cross the Mississippi River to take on longtime rival Southern Illinois (Dec. 21) before wrapping up their 13-game non-conference slate at home against NAIA Missouri Baptist (Dec. 29). SEMO and SIU hook up for the 117th time on the hardwood in 2019-20. 

SEMO starts Ohio Valley Conference play on the road at Austin Peay (Jan. 2) and defending conference champion Murray State (Jan. 4). 

This year's OVC Tournament is scheduled for Mar. 4-7 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.