Indians able to shake off tough loss

For anybody who thought Southeast Missouri State University's Indians would have a bad hangover after their tough loss Thursday night -- forget about it.

"We knew we couldn't let that game bother us," sophomore guard Derek Winans said. "It was a tough loss, but we knew we played well, and we should have won. So we knew if we played that way again, we could do it."

The Indians (7-9, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference) did it Saturday night, stunning Murray State 78-68 in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Show Me Center.

Not only did the Indians bounce back from Thursday's 88-80 overtime home loss to Tennessee-Martin, they beat their longtime nemesis.

Southeast had defeated Murray State only one other time at the Show Me Center, that coming during the 1991-92 season, the Indians' first on the Division I level.

Overall, the Indians had lost 19 of the previous 21 meetings with the Racers, including the last four.

"It feels so good to beat Murrray State," senior forward Tim Scheer said.

Scheer is the only Indian who played on the last Southeast team that defeated Murray State. He was a little-used freshman in 1999-2000 as the Indians won two of three meetings with the Racers, including a victory in the final of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament that sent Southeast to its only NCAA Division I Tournament berth.

Junior forward Damarcus Hence was also technically on the Southeast roster that season, but he sat out as a redshirt.

"Beating a team like Murray State shows the kind of potential we have," Scheer said.

Scheer scored 17 points to lead a balanced Southeast attack. He had 15 first-half points as the Indians forced 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and piled up a surprising 38-23 lead by the intermission.

The Indians opened up a 42-23 advantage early in the second half before the Racers rallied and pulled to within two points with just over seven minutes remaining. But Southeast closed the game strong and won going away.

"Beating Murray State, which is one of the top teams in the league, shows that we can beat anybody when we come out intense and play well," Winans said. "This game will give us a lot of confidence."

Winans scored all 13 of his points in the second half.

Junior center Brandon Griffin had his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Against Tennessee-Martin, Griffin scored 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Griffin continues to average a double-double with 12.3 points and 10.6 rebounds.

Hence added 15 points after scoring 22 against Tennessee-Martin despite having oral surgery earlier in the week.

Sophomore guard Brett Hale scored 10 points, all in the second half, and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to help the Indians pull away.

Sophomore point guard Kevin Roberts dished out 11 assists without a turnover and had six steals. He had nine assists Thursday night.

"All the guys really played well," Southeast coach Gary Garner said.

Although the Indians split their two-game homestand last week, they had arguably two of their top performances of the season.

Against Tennessee-Martin, Southeast shot 50 percent from the field and led almost the whole game before seeing the Skyhawks rally late to force overtime and then win in the extra session. Saturday night, the Indians shot 48 percent and had only eight turnovers.

"We played really good the last two games," Scheer said. "It's a shame we didn't win both, but after losing to Tennessee-Martin, we knew we just had to get over it and bounce back."

Now the Indians will gear up for a non-conference game during the middle of the OVC schedule. They hit the road to take on Western Illinois at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Macomb, Ill.

The Leathernecks, who compete in the Mid-Contintent Conference, are 5-9 overall and 2-1 in league play as they have won their last two games. The squads will also meet Feb. 18 in Cape Girardeau.

Western Illinois and Southeast also played twice last season, with the Leathernecks winning both games. That was part of the Indians' 6-22 record a year ago.

"We feel like we owe them," Garner said. "But they've been playing well and it's always tough when you go on the road."Noteworthy

Senior guard/forward Demetrius King, who has missed the last two games with a knee injury, is doubtful for Tuesday's contest.

***Tennessee-Martin suffered its first OVC loss Saturday night as Eastern Illinois rallied for a 68-60 victory in Charleston, Ill. The Skyhawks led by 14 points with 11 minutes left before the Panthers rallied.

Morehead State continues to lead the OVC with a 5-0 record after posting a 54-50 win at rival Eastern Kentucky Saturday night.

Tennessee-Martin is 3-1 and six of the remaining nine OVC teams have either two or three losses.