Indians ride momentum into Western Illinois game

It's not a conference game, but Southeast Missouri State University's Indians see tonight's contest at Western Illinois as still very important.

For starters, the Leathernecks (5-9, 2-1 Mid-Continent Conference) defeated the Indians (7-9, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference) twice last season. Southeast would like to return the favor as the squads also play Feb. 18 in Cape Girardeau.

"We feel like we owe them after last year," Southeast coach Gary Garner said.

And the Indians also want to continue the momentum they built Saturday night when they defeated OVC power Murray State 78-68. A win in Macomb, Ill., tonight would allow Southeast to enter Saturday's league game at Austin Peay with a full head of steam.

"We played really well against Murray State, and we want to keep that going," senior forward Tim Scheer said. "Every game is important. Another win would get us closer to .500."

The Leathernecks, despite an unimpressive record, aren't likely to be an easy touch for the Indians, who have surpassed their victory total from all of last season.

WIU struggled for much of the season but has rebounded to win its last two games, including Saturday's 74-69 conference triumph over visiting Southern Utah. The Leathernecks have been tough at home, winning four of the five games played at Western Hall.

"You're always going to get a team's best shot when they're at home," Garner said. "Western Illinois struggled early in the season but it looks like they're coming on. They got a few players eligible at the semester, and I'm sure that's helped them."

The Leathernecks returned quite a bit of experience from last year's team that posted a 12-16 record.

Four players average in double figures for WIU, led by 6-foot-3 junior guard J.D. Summers (13.4 ppg). He is followed by 6-6 sophomore forward Will Lewis (12.8 ppg), 6-7 senior forward Luis Rivas (10.9 ppg) and 6-5 senior forward Shawn Mason (10.8 ppg). Lewis pulls down a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per contest.

Summers is WIU's top 3-point threat at 43.3 percent on 29 of 67. But as a team the Leathernecks shoot just 32.7 percent from long range while allowing opponents to connect on a healthy 39.4 percent from beyond the arc.

That last statistic could benefit the Indians, who hit a solid 38.5 percent from 3-point land.

Southeast continues to have five players averaging in double figures, led by sophomore guard Derek Winans (14.7 ppg). He is followed by junior forward Damarcus Hence (12.9 ppg), junior center Brandon Griffin (12.3 ppg), Scheer (11.9 ppg) and sophomore guard Brett Hale (10.7 ppg).

Griffin, who on Monday was chosen as the OVC's top newcomer this week, is the OVC's leading rebounder with 10.6 per game. Hale tops the league in free-throw shooting at 92.5 percent, and sophomore point guard Kevin Roberts is first in assist-to-turnover ratio. Roberts, who has 20 assists and four turnovers in his last two games, has 75 assists and 27 turnovers this season.

Also, senior guard Demetrius King leads the OVC in 3-point shooting at 46.7 percent, but he probably won't play tonight because of a knee injury that has forced him to miss the last two games.

"Winning this game would be big for us before we go to Austin Peay," Garner said.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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