INDIAN SEASON GAME BY GAME

SEMO 93, Western Carolina 69 (1-0)

Mike Branson scored 18 points as the Indians got the season started on the right foot with an easy home victory over the Catamounts of the Southern Conference.

SEMO 67, Rockhurst 58 (2-0)

The Indians struggled against the overmatched Division II squad from Kansas City before finally prevailing at home.

Amory Sanders scored 20 points and SEMO pulled away from a 21-21 halftime tie.

SEMO 66, Montana 61 (3-0)

The Indians, playing their third straight home game to start the season, pulled away late for a hard-fought win over the Grizzlies of the Big Sky Conference.

Roderick Johnson led the way with 15 points while Brian Bunche grabbed 10 rebounds.

SEMO 84, Tennessee Tech 79 (4-0)

Playing their first road game, and also their initial Ohio Valley Conference contest, the Indians built an 18-point second-half lead and held on for the victory.

Mike Branson paced SEMO with 24 points as he hit five of seven 3-pointers.

SEMO 79, Oakland City 45 (5-0)

Returning home to face their second overmatched Division II foe of the season, the Indians had absolutely no trouble this time.

Michael Stokes led a balanced attack with 13 points while Roderick Johnson pulled down 13 rebounds.

Montana 60, SEMO 48 (5-1)

The Indians suffered their first loss of the season as Montana gained revenge with a first-round win in its own tournament.

SEMO led 27-21 at halftime but faltered in the second half, thanks mainly to a 46-29 Montana rebounding edge in the game. Johnson had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Indians.

SEMO 55, Robert Morris 44 (6-1)

Bouncing back from their initial loss, the Indians prevailed in the consolation game of the Montana Tournament.

Johnson scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as he was named to the all-tourney squad.

SEMO 74, Arkansas State 71 (7-1)

In a battle of Indians, Branson and Stokes each scored 18 points while Bunche had 10 rebounds as host SEMO held off the defending Sun Belt Conference champions.

SEMO 65, Bradley 60 (8-1)

The Indians picked up another impressive road win as they built a late 18-point lead and held off a furious charge by the Missouri Valley Conference favorites.

Sanders scored 16 points to help overcome the 27 points from Bradley star Rob Dye. Bunche led the rebounders with 11.

Southern Illinois 62, SEMO 51 (8-2)

The Indians hit the road to start off the new century and they lost for the seventh straight time to their regional rivals from across the river.

Mike Branson led SEMO with 11 points.

SEMO 79, Tennessee State 46 (9-2)

Returning home to resume OVC play, the Indians posted their largest-ever margin of victory during their nine seasons in the conference.

Mike Branson scored 19 points and Nyah Jones snared 13 rebounds.

SEMO 62, Austin Peay 60 (10-2)

In an OVC thriller at the Show Me Center, Antonio Short scored a conventional three-point play with two seconds left to lift the Indians after the Governors had rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit.

Johnson scored 15 points to help overcome the all-around brilliant performance by Austin Peay star Trenton Hassell, who had 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

SEMO 61, Middle Tennessee 48 (11-2)

Stokes scored 15 points and Johnson grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Indians to an impressive OVC road victory.

SEMO builds a big early lead and never looks back to roll past the Raiders.

Tennessee-Martin 75, SEMO 66 (11-3)

The high-flying Indians suffered their first OVC loss as they were dealt a stunning road setback by the underdog Skyhawks, who held a 50-41 rebounding edge.

Stokes led all scorers with 21 points but it was not enough to lift the Indians, who fell behind by 12 points at halftime.

SEMO 84, Murray State 78 (12-3)

This result sent shockwaves across the nation as the Indians broke the Racers' nation's best 47-game home winning streak. SEMO also broke a 15-game losing streak against the perennial OVC powerhouse in a regionally televised game on Fox Sports South.

Branson scored 19 points as the Indians overcame a 12-point deficit after coach Gary Garner had been ejected from the game with just under 13 minutes remaining. SEMO took over sole possession of first place in the OVC.

SEMO 61, Tennessee Tech 50 (13-3)

Returning home after three straight road games, Stokes and Johnson each scored 13 points as the Indians pulled away late to notch the OVC victory.

SEMO 77, Eastern Illinois 66 (14-3)

Playing the second of four straight OVC home games, Emmanuel McCuthison scored 16 points and Johnson had 12 rebounds as the Indians romped.

SEMO 80, Morehead State 59 (15-3)

Another OVC home game, another easy win as the Indians got 16 points from Branson.

SEMO 77, Eastern Kentucky 65 (16-3)

Stokes scored 23 points and Johnson snared 13 rebounds as the Indians pulled away late for an OVC win as they closed out their homestand and matched their season high with five straight triumphs.

Tennessee State 56, SEMO 52 (16-4)

The Indians began a two-game OVC road swing in disappointing fashion as they suffered their second upset loss of the league season.

Johnson led SEMO with 12 points.

Austin Peay 67, SEMO 64, 2OT (16-5)

In a thriller, the Indians suffered their second straight conference setback as Austin Peay's Nick Stapleton scored 26 points in the absence of Hassell, who suffered an ankle injury early in the game.

Johnson led SEMO with 21 points. Stokes, who had 16, almost won the game for the Indians in regulation but his running shot in the lane bounced around the rim several times before falling off at the buzzer.

SEMO 76, Middle Tennessee 56 (17-5)

Returning home for the first of three straight OVC games at the Show Me Center, the Indians got back on track with an easy win as Johnson scored 17 points.

SEMO 80, Tennessee-Martin 68 (18-5)

Stokes scored 21 points and Johnson grabbed 14 rebounds as the Indians gained revenge for their earlier upset at the hands of the Skyhawks.

Murray State 77, SEMO 60 (18-6)

A record crowd of 7,241 at the Show Me Center came away largely disappointed as the Racers gained revenge on the Indians by romping in an OVC showdown televised nationally on ESPN2.

The Racers, getting a combined 46 points from stars Aubrey Reese and Isaac Spencer, took temporary control of the league race. Johnson paced the Indians with 17 points.

SEMO 72, Eastern Illinois 71 (19-6)

Johnson took a pass from McCuthison and deposited a layup in the closing seconds to lift the Indians to a huge road win as they stayed on the heels of Murray State in the OVC race.

Johnson led the way with 26 points.

SEMO 74, Morehead State 58 (20-6)

Playing the first game of the dreaded `Death Valley' trip, the Indians rolled to victory and got an unexpected bonus upon returning to their motel.

Murray State's upset loss to Middle Tennessee lifted the Indians into a first-place OVC tie with the Racers, with both squads having one league game remaining.

McCuthison scored 15 points and Johnson had 10 rebounds as the Indians posted their second straight 20-win season.

SEMO 65, Eastern Kentucky 48 (21-6)

The Indians concluded their Death Valley trip and the regular season with a win that assured them at least a share of their first-ever OVC championship.

Murray State's narrow win over Tennessee Tech later denied SEMO an outright OVC title, but that did little to hamper their celebration on the long bus ride home.

Johnson scored 25 points as the Indians posted their most season victories ever on the Division I level.

SEMO 76, Tennessee-Martin 74 (22-6)

Opening the OVC Tournament at home as the No. 2 seed, the Indians narrowly avoided a major disaster as Skyhawks' freshman Okechi Egbe's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was barely off the mark.

Stokes scored 20 points to lead four SEMO players in double figures as the Indians earned the right to compete in the tourney's final four in Nashville, Tenn.

SEMO 78, Middle Tennessee 60 (23-6)

Putting together one of their best all-around performances of the season, the Indians rolled past the sixth-seeded Raiders as they cruised into their second straight OVC Tournament championship game.

Stokes scored 22 points and Johnson grabbed 17 rebounds as the Indians took control early and never looked back.

SEMO 67, Murray State 56 (24-6)

For the first time ever as a Division I program, the Indians qualified for the Big Dance -- the NCAA Tournament -- by beating the top-seeded Racers in the finals of the OVC tourney finals.

A national television audience on ESPN and approximately 2,000 red-clad SEMO fans saw the Indians overcome an early 21-9 deficit. Short's 3-pointer just before the first-half buzzer lifted SEMO into a one-point halftime lead and the Indians controlled most of the second half.

Branson scored 21 points, Johnson had 14, Short 13 and Stokes 10 as the Indians gained sweet revenge against the Racers, who hit a shot at the buzzer during last year's OVC Tournament title game to deny SEMO a spot in the NCAA tourney.

The Racers' Spencer led all scorers with 25 points, but Reese -- the league's MVP -- hit just one of 18 shots and was limited to only three points.