INDIANS ABLE TO OVERCOME ADVERSITY (INDIAN NOTES)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians were able to pick up a huge Ohio Valley Conference road victory Saturday afternoon despite having some glaring things go against them.

--Leading scorer Bud Eley played only 23 minutes because of foul trouble and eventually fouled out and finished with just 12 points.

--The Indians committed 26 turnovers, including seven straight during one key second-half stretch when they lost a 13-point lead.

--Southeast went to the free-throw line just 10 times as opposed to the 31 attempts that Middle Tennessee State University had.

But the bottom line was a thrilling 78-76 win that kept the Indians in first place in the OVC and dropped MTSU out of a share of the top spot.

"It's a great win for us," said Southeast coach Ron Shumate. "We made a lot of mistakes late that let them come back, but we stayed positive and kept believing we could win. That was the big thing."

As the Indians, who improved to 8-9 overall and 5-1 in OVC play with their fifth straight victory, left the Murphy Center Saturday, they stood a good chance of grabbing first place in the league all by themselves.

Southeast, MTSU and Eastern Illinois entered the day in a three-way tie for first with 4-1 records. By losing, MTSU dropped out of the top spot. Eastern Illinois was a solid underdog at Tennessee Tech Saturday night.

* When the Indians weren't turning the ball over Saturday -- they had 26 turnovers -- they played an extremely efficient offensive game.

Southeast shot 50 percent from the field (32 of 64), including 53 percent in the second half, and the Indians hit seven of 12 3-pointers for 58 percent.

"We got good shots and we shot the ball well," Shumate said. "We just had too many turnovers. Their press really bothered us."

* While Southeast shot the ball well, MTSU coach Randy Wiel lamented his team's poor shooting.

The Raiders shot just 37 percent (26 of 71), including only 18 percent from 3-point range (six of 33). and MTSU also made just 18 of 31 free throws (58 percent).

"We didn't shoot the ball well today," said Wiel. "We missed a lot of free throws."

* After spending Saturday night in Murfreesboro, the Indians will head to Cookeville, Tenn., today. Southeast will take on Tennessee Tech, another highly regarded OVC squad, at 7:45 p.m. Monday.

Last year, the Indians were hammered 102-69 by the Eagles in Cookeville.

"We've always had trouble at Tennessee Tech," said Shumate, himself a Tech graduate and a member of that school's athletic hall of fame. "But winning here today should give us a lot of confidence."