INDIANS HAVE LAST SAY WITH PANTHERS

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- There is still a week left in the regular season, but Saturday night's Ohio Valley Conference basketball game between Southeast Missouri State University and host Eastern Illinois sure had the look and feel of a playoff contest.

A raucous crowd of 4,624 packed into cozy Lantz Gym to watch a pair of teams who still have so much on the line as the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament approaches.

Entering the game, Southeast was still in a fight for the OVC championship while EIU was very much in the running to host a first-round league tourney game.

After 40 minutes of intense, well-played, back-and-forth basketball, Southeast squeezed out a 72-71 victory that left just about all the participants drained.

"I'm worn out," said Southeast forward Roderick Johnson. "This was just like a playoff game. Both teams really went at it."

Said Southeast coach Gary Garner, "It was a playoff atmosphere. The crowd got into it and every possession was so big. I thought it was a great game."

The Indians, bouncing back from last Saturday's disappointing home loss to league-leading Murray State, improved to 19-6 overall and 12-4 in OVC play as they remain on the Racers' heels. Murray leads second-place Southeast by one game, with both squads having two contests remaining.

Southeast also clinched at least a tie for second place in the OVC, meaning the Indians will definitely host a first-round conference tournament game on Feb. 29.

"Being assured of a home game in the tournament is big," Garner said. "Now we have that out of the way and we can go after the (OVC) title."

EIU, losing for just the second time at home all season, fell to 14-11 overall and 9-7 in the OVC. The Panthers are in fifth place but still very much alive to host a first-round league tourney game.

"It's not easy to win here," said Garner. "This is really a good win for us."

And it took two key plays in the final seconds to nail down the victory in a game that saw neither team lead by more than three points in the final 11:37. During that time, there were five ties and six lead changes.

Marc Polite had given EIU a 71-70 lead on a layup with 18 seconds remaining.

At the other end, Southeast got the ball inside to Johnson, who was virtually unstoppable around the basket all night.

Johnson was trapped in a double-team along the baseline and appeared to have no place to go. But, after some contact resulted in an EIU defender falling to the court without a whistle, Johnson was able to get off a pass to a wide-open Emmanuel McCuthison, who deposited a layup off the glass with five seconds left, putting the Indians ahead 72-71.

"They caught me on the baseline and I was about to call a timeout, then I saw Emmanuel wide open," explained Johnson. "Thank god he made it."

Asked if he was worried that he might be whistled for an offensive foul when the EIU defender went down, a smiling Johnson said, "Not really. I thought he flopped, and I think the referee realized it."

Said McCuthison, "There were two men on Rod and somebody had to be open. I happened to be the one."

Added Garner of the winning play, "That's a fifth-year senior. Roderick really kept his composure when he was trapped."

The Panthers still had a final chance to pull out a win, but Antonio Short stole a pass at mid-court and dribbled out the final seconds as he raced in for a dunk that was ruled to have come just after the buzzer.

Johnson led all scorers with 26 points as he hit nine of 13 shots from the field and eight of 10 free throws. He also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

"They really exploited us at our Achille's heel, in the post," said EIU coach Rick Samuels. "To their credit, Roderick Johnson really made some plays."

Michael Stokes was Southeast's only other double-figure scorer with 13 points, but all 10 players who saw action for the Indians found the scoring column.

Nyah Jones hit four of six shots and added eight points. McCuthison hit two of three shots for six points and he was also Southeast's second-leading rebounder with five. Amory Sanders made two of three 3-pointers, both giving Southeast temporary three-point leads late in the game.

"We got a lot of contributions," Garner said. "Nyah shot the ball well and Amory made two really big 3-pointers."

John Smith paced EIU with 16 points. He was followed by Kyle Hill with 13 and Polite with 11.

Both teams shot well, Southeast hitting 51 percent (28 of 55) and EIU 47 percent (29 of 62).

And the contest was fairly turnover-free, Southeast well under its season average with 13 and EIU committing only 10.

"I thought the game was very well played," said Garner.

EIU, riding the emotion of its enthusiastic crowd, hit its first seven shots and bolted to a quick 14-6 lead. The Panthers opened up a 30-17 advantage with just under six minutes left in the opening half.

"They came out so hot, but we knew they couldn't keep that up," said Johnson.

A Stokes 3-pointer in the final minute of the opening half pulled the Indians to within 34-28 at the break.

"They started with great emotion and we dug ourselves a hole, but I thought we were in good shape at halftime," said Garner.

A 6-0 run to start the second half gave the Indians their first lead of the game at 35-34. Southeast led 39-37 when EIU surged ahead 44-39, and the Panthers later led 50-45 with a little more than 12 minutes left.

But an unusual four-point play by Stokes he hit a 3-pointer, was fouled and made the free throw pulled the Indians to within 50-49 and set the stage for a final 11-plus minutes that saw neither team lead by more than three.

"Coming after the Murray loss, we really needed this one," said Garner. "Now we can go back out on the road with a lot of confidence."

The Indians will close out the regular season with two more road games, facing Morehead State Thursday and Eastern Kentucky Saturday.

INDIAN NOTES: Tickets for the first-round OVC Tournament game at the Show Me Center will go on sale this week.

Season-ticket holders can purchase their seats from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday. All other seats will be released beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Tickets are $13 for lower level and $9 for upper level. Student tickets are $4.