CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's offense, shut down virtually the entire second half, picked just the right time to come alive Saturday night.

An 80-yard drive was capped by Jack Tomco's 38-yard touchdown pass to Willie Ponder with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter, lifting the Indians to a thrilling 21-14 victory over Southern Illinois.

The Indians, by winning in front of 11,557 fans at McAndrew Stadium, moved their record to 2-0 for the first time since 1990. And they posted their third straight victory over the Salukis (1-1).

This one wasn't quite as dramatic as Southeast's comeback from a 31-0 deficit against SIU two years ago. But it was just as exhilarating for the Indians, who have not lost to the Salukis since coach Tim Billings took over Southeast's program.

"We can't make anything easy," said a smiling Billings, in reference not only to Saturday's game but also a double-overtime win over Arkansas-Monticello in the season opener. "But I really think these guys believe in themselves."

That was apparent after SIU stormed back from a 14-0 halftime deficit to tie the contest with 2:03 remaining.

Southeast took over on its 20-yard line with 1:56 to play. Redshirt freshman Jeff East replaced Tomco at quarterback for the first three plays, capped by a third-down draw by tailback Corey Kinsey that netted a first down to the Southeast 35.

"We just wanted to settle Jack down a little bit, but we wanted to get his arm back in there," Billings said. "He did a super job."

Two passes from Tomco to Ponder netted a first down at the SIU 38. Tomco then lofted a pass down the right sideline that Ponder caught inside the 10 despite being nearly tackled before the ball ever arrived. But Ponder was able to keep his balance and go into the end zone. The Indians obviously declined the penalty for defensive holding.

"I made a cut, and he just grabbed me, but I kept going through with the play," Ponder, who caught nine passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, said. "Jack made a great throw and he played real good. We needed this win."

Said Tomco, "We just ran a little out and up and Willie made a great play on the corner. The guy basically tackled Willie, but he was able to keep his feet."

Tomco, who will have plenty of eyes on him after Jeromy McDowell was lost for the season with a knee injury, turned in a solid performance as he directed the Indians ball-control offense.

Tomco completed his first nine passes and didn't throw an incompletion until less than four minutes remained in the second quarter. He went 11-for-14 for 60 yards in the first half. Tomco finished 15-for-23 for 129 yards as the Indians' offense sputtered for most of the second half until the late drive.

"It feels real good to come out there and get this win," Tomco said. "We were stressing a little bit in the second half, but we had confidence. But this win goes to the defense and the offensive line."

Southeast's offensive line and defense dominated the first half. The offensive front opened gaping holes for the running game, led by Corey Kinsey, who had his second straight performance of more than 100 yards. The sophomore gained 133 yards on 24 carries. He had 105 yards in the first half.

Iven Brown and Keiki Misipeka both added more than 20 yards rushing, and Brown scored a touchdown.

All told, the Indians piled up 161 rushing yards in the opening half, averaging a healthy seven yards per attempt, although they were slowed considerably in the second half. Southeast finished with 166 rushing yards and 295 total yards.

"We wanted to be physical," offensive tackle Justen Meyer said. "I don't know what happened in the second half, but it's great to win this game."

Southeast's defense, after pitching a first-half shutout, wore down some in the second half but still made enough plays to keep the Indians in the game.

"We just hung in there," defensive end Ryan Roth said. "What a win."

SIU, as expected, got the bulk of its offense from star tailback Tom Koutsos, the Salukis' career rushing leader. Koutsos gained 154 yards on 26 carries and scored both touchdowns on runs of 3 yards and 1 yard. SIU had 337 total yards, 221 coming after halftime.

After dominating the first quarter but failing to reach the end zone, the Indians moved 51 yards in seven plays at the outset of the second period, scoring on Brown's 13-yard run. Derek Kutz booted the first of his three extra points for a 7-0 lead with 11:28 left before halftime.

After SIU missed a 27-yard field goal, the Indians proceeded to march 80 yards in 13 plays, the key being Kinsey's 23-yard run to the six on third-and-13. Tomco hit Ponder on a 6-yard TD pass with 20 seconds left in the half to make it 14-0.

Southeast's offense, pinned deep most of the time, did nothing virtually the entire second half as SIU stormed from behind, although a third-quarter drive to the Southeast 13 ended when Caleb Daniel recovered a fumble.

The Salukis finally broke through with 13:55 left in the final period as Koutsos scored to make it 14-7. Another Koutsos TD, capping a 71-yard drive with 2:03 remaining, tied things and set the stage for the Indians' late heroics.

"Give Southeast a lot of credit. They're a good ballclub and they're gonna win some games," SIU coach Jerry Kill said. "So I don't think we got beat by a bad team."