Indians notch first OVC win

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Going on the road for an Ohio Valley Conference game was apparently just what it took to cure Southeast Missouri State University's ailing Indians.

The Indians, after losing their first two conference contests at home by a combined six points, broke into the OVC win column Tuesday night with a surprisingly easy 84-64 victory over Eastern Illinois in front of 1,671 fans at Lantz Arena.

Southeast improved to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in OVC play as the Indians reached a season-high point total. EIU fell to 3-10 and 1-2.

"This is a big win for us," junior guard Derek Winans said. "We knew after losing those first two games at home, our backs were against the wall and a lot of people were doubting us. But we stayed positive and we really played together tonight."

Unlike their first two OVC games, Tuesday's affair was devoid of virtually any harrowing moments for the Indians. They trailed just twice all night -- both times in the opening half -- and led by 22 points late in the second half after outscoring the Panthers 51-33 in the final period.

"It's very unusual to go on the road and win a conference game by 20 points, especially against a team like Eastern Illinois that is so tough at home," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "I can't tell you how proud I am of this group. People were down on us after losing those two games at home, and we were down on ourselves.

"This is a great win for us, and especially the way we won it. I thought we could win it, but I thought it would come down to the wire either way. Never did I expect to win by 20."

Winans led the Indians with 29 points as he hit 12 of 16 shots, including four of six 3-pointers.

"We just all played together," Winans said. "We had been playing good defense, but tonight we really got our offense going."

Junior forward Dainmon Gonner bounced back from two subpar performances -- he was even removed from the starting lineup Saturday against Tennessee Tech -- with 17 points and nine rebounds. He hit seven of 10 shots.

"I can't blame coach for sitting me out. It was my fault I was struggling," Gonner said. "It felt good to bounce back. We needed that one. It was a nice win. When we play together like that, you never know what can happen."

Said Garner, "This was Dainmon's best game. His shot selection was really good. This is the way we look for Dainmon to play."

Senior center Brandon Griffin added 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting and freshman guard Terrick Willoughby had nine points. Junior point guard Mike Nelke contributed six points, six assists and three steals without a turnover.

"It's a tremendous win for us. We really needed it," Griffin said. "This is the way we can play all the time if we stay focused."

Aaron Patterson paced the Panthers with 18 points on 9-for-11 shooting.

After falling behind 2-0, the Indians opened up advantages of 18-8 and 20-10. EIU's only other lead came at 27-26 late in the first half.

Willoughby hit two free throws with 2:36 left before halftime to put the Indians back on top 28-27. They led 33-31 at the break.

Josh Gomes scored at the outset of the second half to pull EIU into a 33-33 tie, but after that it was all Southeast as the Indians used torrid shooting to turn a close game into a rout.

An 18-2 Southeast run in a little more than five minutes opened up a 51-35 lead for the Indians with just under 14 minutes remaining. EIU never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

"We were sluggish to start the second half, but they really played well. They really got going," EIU coach Rick Samuels said.

The Indians shot 63.6 percent in the second half to finish at 55 percent for the game. The Panthers also shot well at 53.2 percent. But Southeast had just 10 turnovers compared to 19 for EIU.

"We expected a close game, but to win on the road like this can do so much for our confidence," Griffin said. Southeast has another OVC game Thursday night when Tennessee State visits the Show Me Center.