~ Southeast hosts Central Methodist today in a 3 p.m. contest.

Southeast coach Scott Edgar wanted to avoid overwhelming competition in his team's first game after the Christmas break.

Edgar and his men's basketball team welcome in Central Methodist for a 3 p.m. game at the Show Me Center today.

Central Methodist, an NAIA school, enters with a 5-7 record.

"We want to get back playing, and we are coming off a loss," Edgar said. "It's important because we're still developing our team. We do have some injuries."

The Redhawks (8-5) last played Dec. 22, when they lost at Tulsa. That came at the conclusion of a weeklong road trip where they won two Ohio Valley Conference road games in dramatic fashion. Today's game allows the players to ease back into competition.

"It's hard to gain momentum in defeat, no matter who you play and how you sell it," Edgar said. "Winning breeds confidence, and we're also trying to get our fans excited as we enter into conference play."

Today's game marks the beginning of a tough stretch for the Redhawks. They play four games in nine days, including a road game at Eastern Illinois. But that doesn't mean Edgar plans to adjust the minutes he plays his key contributors.

"I want to play everybody, although I will play according to what we need to do to win," he said. "But it would be nice if when the game is over, that everyone who has played feels good about how they played.

"We'll do our regular rotations. We might platoon. It might be easier to coach because I only have 10 guys."

Edgar said the Redhawks could be without David Johnson, who missed the Tulsa game with an ankle injury, and Jimmy Drew, who injured his ankle during practice a few days ago.

Matt Sherman, a 6 foot sophomore guard, leads the Eagles with 17 points per game. Junior 6-4 forward Jeff Blauvelt adds 12.9 points and senior 6-5 forward Anthony Love chips in 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Central Methodist shoots the 3-pointer well, averaging 8.4 a game while making 46 percent (101-of-222) of its attempts.

The Redhawks feature three players who average double-digit points. Jaycen Herring leads the team off the bench with 12.8 points per game. Roderick Pearson, the lone starter among the team's top three scorers, adds 12 points a game, while Brandon Foust averages 11 points.