BUNCHE COMES UP BIG FOR INDIANS

At 6-feet-8 and a rugged 240 pounds, Brian Bunche has become known for his strong rebounding and solid defense when he comes off the bench for Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team.

But Saturday night, the junior forward/center showed an offensive flair -- and he ended up being one of the major reasons the Indians were able to rally for an 81-70 road victory over Eastern Illinois.

Bunche, averaging less than three points per game prior to the contest, turned in the top offensive performance of his young Southeast career when he scored nine points.

And seven of Bunche's points were extremely vital as they came in the final 9:07 of play. His layup with 7:28 gave the Indians the lead for good at 57-56. And his foul-line jumper at the 1:30 mark with the shot clock winding down put Southeast on top 70-64 and was a huge dagger in the Panthers' hearts.

"Brian really came up big for us," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "A lot of people might not realize it, but that jump shot from about 15 feet is really a good shot for him. He can make that."

Bunche, a junior-college transfer in his first season with the Indians, doesn't shoot much unless he's within a few feet of the basket -- which he acknowledged with a smile is a reason people might have been surprised to see him knock down two 15-footers Saturday.

But Bunche said he's extremely comfortable from that range.

"That's my shot," he said with a grin. "I practice that all the time."

Bunche is exactly the kind of blue-collar guy Garner loves having because he doesn't really care if he scores of not.

"I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win, whether it's grabbing a rebound or playing defense," Bunche said. "Scoring is not important to me."

One of Garner's favorite team sayings goes roughly like this: `It's amazing what can be accomplished if nobody cares who gets the credit.'

That, acknowledged Garner, pretty much sums up Bunche -- along with the rest of the Indians, who secured their fifth OVC road victory without a loss Saturday night.

"This is really an unselfish group and just a joy to coach," Garner said. "Everybody just pulls for each other and I think that's one of the reasons we play so well on the road."

Bunche was just one of many heroes for the Indians Saturday night as they remained hot on the heels of Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference race -- and really solidified their hold on second place in the 10-team league.

Bud Eley recorded his 10th `double-double' of the season by scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He also blocked four shots and had three assists.

Kahn Cotton scored 16 points and was 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 1:03.

Cory Johnson had 14 points and was 8-for-9 from the foul line. The OVC's leading free-throw shooter at 95 percent has missed just three from the charity stripe all season.

Roderick Johnson added 11 points and seven rebounds while Mike Branson chipped in with 10 points.

The Indians also got a big boost from the more than 100 fans who make the trek from Cape Girardeau and voiced their support for Southeast. That helped to at least somewhat offset a vocal gathering of 4,364 mostly pro-EIU fans that rocked Lantz Gym.

"We've got great fan support and it means a lot to the players when they go on the road and see so many of our fans," Garner said.

Southeast, 12-6 overall, is 9-1 in OVC play, one game behind 10-0 Murray State. The Indians' only league defeat was that heartbreaking one-point setback to the Racers 11 days ago.

Eastern Illinois, Tennessee State and Middle Tennessee are all tied for third place in the OVC at 5-5 -- which puts those squads a full four games behind the Indians in the race for second.

The above means that, even if the Indians only split their final eight OVC games, then one of those third-place teams would have to win out the rest of the way simply to tie Southeast for second place.

Of course, the Indians have their sights set much higher than going 4-4 the rest of the way. They are still truly in the chase for the OVC championship.

"That's been our goal from day one and we're still right there (with Murray State)," Garner said. "But it's nice to kind of have some separation (with the top two teams and the rest of the league). It would be great if it just stayed us and Murray the rest of the way."

Even if the Indians don't wind up winning the league, what an accomplishment finishing second would be -- especially considering Southeast has never placed higher than fourth in the OVC since joining the league eight years ago.

Since moving up to the OVC -- and NCAA Division I -- in the 1991-92 season, Southeast has finished (in order) seventh, fourth, sixth, sixth, eighth, fifth and fifth.

Last year's 10-8, fifth-place finish -- in their first season under Garner -- marked the Indians' highest-ever victory total in the OVC.

With eight league games remaining, the Indians are a virtual lock to shatter that previous high total for OVC wins.

Of course, what happens during the regular season is ultimately just a prelude to the all-important OVC postseason tournament that determines the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The top eight finishers in the final OVC standings gain berths in the league tourney, with the top four earning first-round home games. Then the semifinals and finals are played in Nashville, Tenn.

"On our level, that's what everybody ultimately plays for, getting into the NCAA Tournament," said Garner. "Our goal is to get a (first-round) home game and get to Nashville. Then anything can happen."