HOOP SCOOP: BIG WINS PUT INDIANS BACK IN OVC RACE

Two great nights of basketball at the Show Me Center have put Southeast Missouri back in the race to host a first-round game in the Ohio Valley Conference post-season tournament.

First of all, let me tell you that it is great to be able to say we are definitely in the tournament after not being eligible the last five years. Saturday night's 78-65 win over Tennessee Tech secured a spot in this year's tourney and it is exciting to think that we will again be in post-season play.

The OVC tournament begins on Tuesday, Feb. 25, and if we can win our final two regular-season game on the road we will have an excellent chance to host a first-round game.

I thought our team played well in the final two regular-season games at the Show Me Center. Monday night's 85-76 win over Middle Tennessee might have been our best game of the season both offensively and defensively.

On defense, we really got after them. On offense, we shot the ball extremely well and we made the extra pass to give us the high percentage shots.

Saturday night's matchup with Tennessee Tech was another excellent college basketball game between two good teams. Allen Hatchett returned to our lineup after missing the prior two games with tendinitis in his knees and his play was certainly a key factor in our win. He had 17 points and five assists and really took control from the point guard position.

We fell behind early in the Tech game, but we built up a 31-26 halftime lead. We led by 18 points in the second half and it was nice to finally win a game that didn't go to the buzzer.

Bud Eley had another great game in his head-to-head matchup with big 7-1 Lorenzo Coleman of Tech. Bud had 17 points and nine rebounds while holding Coleman to nine points and six rebounds.

In the two games matching the OVC's top centers, Eley had 29 points and 17 rebounds while Coleman had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Eley got us off to a great start against Middle Tennessee game, scoring the game's first six points. We never relinquished that lead as Eley finished with 26 points.

I was particularly proud of the play of our only senior, Reggie Crisp. He played extremely hard in his final regular-season game at the Show Me Center.

We presented Reggie a senior plaque prior to the game and in addition to his years played we had Southeast Scholar Athlete at the bottom of the plaque. Reggie is not only a fine player but an excellent student. Last semester he had a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in Industrial Technology with an emphasis on electronics.

We've had two great wins that you fans have certainly helped us with. Now it is time to go on the road and get us a couple of victories to close the regular season.

Thursday night's game at Tennessee-Martin will be a tremendous challenge. The Skyhawks always get sky high for our game. Saturday we face an Eastern Illinois team that beat us earlier this year.

These final two road games aren't that far away. Why not jump in the car and go on the road with us. It should be some great basketball.

Ron Shumate is the head basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University