INDIANS STILL ON LEAD LAP; SOUTHEAST KEEPS PACE IN OVC RACE WITH WIN

Southeast Missouri State University's performance against Tennessee State Tuesday night probably won't go into the Indians' end-of-the-season highlight film.

But it was good enough to net the Indians yet another Ohio Valley Conference victory.

The Indians sputtered and staggered to a 61-54 triumph in front of 4,837 fans at the Show Me Center.

"We were fortunate to win," said Southeast coach Gary Garner, who added with a grin, "but it's really good when you can play bad and win. I don't think we could have done that last year."

No, it was certainly not a work of art. But it did keep Southeast's OVC train motoring right along the tracks.

Southeast, headed for by far its best season since making the move up to the NCAA Division I level eight years ago, improved to 14-6 overall and 11-1 in OVC play by winning for the eighth time in its last nine games.

The Indians continued to solidify their hold on second place in the 10-team league. In fact, a win Thursday night over visiting Middle Tennessee State would clinch at least second for Southeast, which never before has placed higher than fourth in the OVC.

And the Indians remained very much in contention for the OVC regular-season championship. Murray State won again Tuesday -- no surprise there -- as the Racers improved to 13-0 in the league.

"We came out a little sluggish, but it's a good win," said Southeast forward Roderick Johnson. "We know we have to keep on pace with Murray."

Although the Indians led the entire second half, they never could get in a solid flow offensively. That, along with TSU's dominance on the boards, allowed the Tigers to keep things close and have plenty of chances down the stretch.

TSU (8-12, 5-7 OVC) shot just 32 percent from the field and missed 10 of 20 free throws. But the Tigers stayed in contention almost the whole way thanks to a 47 to 33 rebounding advantage -- including a huge 24 to seven edge on the offensive glass.

"When you hold a team to 32 percent shooting and you shoot 47 percent, you figure to win by more than seven," said Garner. "We gave them so many second shots and that's what held them in the game. You have to give them credit. They really pounded the boards."

The Tigers are one of the OVC's best rebounding teams. But when Southeast hammered TSU 70-49 in Nashville on Dec. 3, the Indians held an amazing 52 to 22 edge on the boards.

"We knew they'd come after us after the way we outrebounded them last time," Johnson said. "They have some big, strong players."

Southeast got its usual monster game from senior center Bud Eley, who scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked five shots and had three assists.

Eley, who hit six of seven field goals and seven of 10 free throws, scored 12 points in the second half.

"I sound like a stuck record, but Bud is just having a great year," Garner said. "Look at his line. He has such a big impact on the game."

The Johnsons combined for 26 points, with Roderick getting 14 and senior guard Cory 12 despite missing some time after rolling an ankle.

But C. Johnson's biggest impact probably came on defense as he held Jamie Roberts -- the OVC's leading scorer at nearly 20 points per game -- to just nine points. Roberts was 3-for-11 from the field and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts.

"Cory's defensive effort on Roberts was just really good," said Garner.

Freshman point guard Fred Abraham had another solid game as he played 25 minutes off the bench in place of Kahn Cotton, who went scoreless for the second straight game. Abraham scored four points and matched Eley with a team-high three assists.

"Kahn is just in a little slump right now, but he'll get it back," said Garner. "All players go through that. But Fred came in and played well."

TSU led much of the first half before Mike Branson's dunk off a nice feed from R. Johnson with 3:22 left put Southeast ahead 28-26. The Indians would not trail again.

Leading 31-27 at halftime, Southeast saw TSU pull to within a point twice. But an 8-0 ran, capped by Brian Bunche's 15-footer, put the Indians ahead 43-34 with just over 13 minutes remaining.

Southeast later built an 11-point lead and several 10-point advantages, the last at 56-46. But the Indians scored just one point over the next seven-plus minutes.

The Tigers squandered several opportunities -- including missing four free throws -- to really put the heat on Southeast. TSU did finally pull to within 57-54 on a Jason Johnson follow shot with 11 seconds left. Johnson paced the Tigers with 21 points.

But C. Johnson -- the OVC's top free-throw shooter -- hit a pair with six seconds left to make it 59-54. He added two more foul shots with 2.7 seconds to go.