SOUTHEAST STRIKES TWICE AGAINST MINERS; THAMES TOO MUCH FOR ROLLA AS TRIBE WINS

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Were it not for the inside dominance of Thomas Thames and the home court advantage, Southeast Missouri State may have been Missouri-Rolla's victim rather than the Miners' conquerer.

Thames scored 21 points and a season-high 18 rebounds to help the Indians move past the Miners 70-59 before 5,596 at the Show Me Center Saturday night.

"Thomas had a good game for us tonight, but if we had played this game on the road, we'd have lost by 20," said Southeast coach Ron Shumate.

Rolla pulled even at 56-all with 6:14 left in the game on a three-point bucket by Chris Dawson.

The Indians moved ahead 63-56 on a stickback by James Barnes with 2:44 left. But Dawson nailed another three-point shot to trim the deficit to four, 63-59, with 2:29 left.

Then on the Indians' next possession, Danny Dohogne lofted a pass toward the middle that was meant for Barnes. But Rolla easily intercepted the pass when Barnes failed to move up close enough to receive the pass.

Shumate subsequently called a timeout, then slammed his clipboard to the floor in disgust.

"James was back way too far behind the time line to take that pass," said Shumate. "It's plays like these that make me question how much this team wants to get better," he added.

"Before the game the players were making their layups, then they walked back to the line instead of running," said Shumate. "I had to go on the floor and ask them to at least put more effort into it."

The Indians were able to push their lead to six on an inside basket by Dohogne with :52 left.

Southeast was able to put the game out of reach by hitting four of its last five free throws.

Missouri-Rolla coach Dale Martin believed Thames was the difference in the game.

"We just couldn't stop Thames inside all night," said Martin, whose squad fell to 10-9 overall and 1-7 in the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Rolla was led by Dawson and Bill Jolly, each scoring 15 points.

The win boosted Southeast to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play.

"I thought in the last 1:12 of the game, Southeast just wanted the game more than us," added Martin, who had to play the contest without the services of former New Madrid High standout Donnie Brown.

"I really needed Donnie in a game like this because of his size and ability," said Martin.

Said Shumate,"I think with Donnie Brown in the game, that might have made the difference for Rolla tonight."

Brown is expected to be out 10 more days with a leg injury.

Southeast dominated Rolla on the boards 45-27. But the Indians hurt themselves with 22 turnovers.

"You can't turn the ball over as much as we do and still expect to put a winning streak together in this league," said Shumate.

The Indians were able claim a 10-point lead in the first half, 30-20, with 5:07 left in the first half.

Undaunted, the Miners fought back and pulled to within a point, 32-31 by halftime.

Rolla grabbed its first lead since the opening minutes early in the second half. Rod Jackson turned a steal into an uncontested layup, giving the Miners a 35-32 lead.

Southeast wrested the lead from Rolla on back-to-back buckets from Barnes. Southeast never lost the lead the remainder of the way.

SOUTHEAST NOTES : An altercation took place between Southeast's Mike Lewis and Rolla's Tony Johnson in the second half. The players were scrambling for a loose ball. Lewis gained control of the ball as the two were sprawled on the floor. Johnson fouled Lewis but nothing was called and Lewis eventually wrapped his arms around Johnson in an attempt to wrestle him to the floor. The players were separated and the game resumed shortly thereafter. "Dale Martin and I dressed the officials down for that," said Shumate. "If they had made a call when they were supposed to, this would never have happened."