INDIANS OPEN 'DEATH VALLEY' TRIP WITH EAGLES

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- It's probably been a few years since Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team made the long trip to Morehead State looking up at the Eagles in the Ohio Valley Conference standings.

But that's the situation the Indians will face tonight as they square off with the Eagles in a 6:30 tipoff at Ellis T. Johnson Arena.

Granted, Morehead State isn't very far ahead of Southeast. At 3-4, the Eagles are in sixth place in the nine-team league while the 2-4 Indians are a half-game behind in seventh.

Southeast coach Gary Garner, however, does believe that this is the best Morehead State squad he's seen in the four seasons he's been in the league.

And he knows the Eagles (9-9 overall) will be licking their chops at the possibility of ending a six-game losing streak to the Indians (11-7), who have won the last three meetings at Ellis T. Johnson Arena.

"I think this is the best team they've had since I've been in the OVC," said Garner. "And they're ahead of us right now. They've got a lot to play for, so they're going to be really excited about the game."

Of course, the Indians also have a lot to play for during this two-game road trip that will end Monday night with a contest at last-place Eastern Kentucky (6-10, 0-6 OVC).

Southeast, the defending OVC regular-season co-champion, has a lot of ground to make up if it hopes to get back in the conference title race, or at least in the thick of the chase to finish among the top four and earn a first-round home game for the league tournament.

But, with many of the OVC's top teams starting to rack up some losses as they square off against each other, Garner knows the Indians could be right back in the hunt if they sweep this road trip.

"If we win both, we're 4-4 and probably in about fourth place. Then we're right back in it," Garner said. "If we lose both, we're 2-6 and have no shot (at the title). So it's really a big weekend for us."

Garner expects quite a battle from the Eagles, even though the Indians have dominated them over the last three years.

Morehead State demonstrated just how improved it is Thursday night against a strong Eastern Illinois squad, even though the Eagles suffered a heartbreaking 88-85 loss.

The Eagles led the Panthers 83-76 with 42 seconds left, but Eastern Illinois staged a furious rally and went ahead for good on a four-point play with 17 seconds remaining.

"That just had to be a devastating loss for them," said Garner. "But to have a team like Eastern Illinois just about beat, that shows you the kind of team they have."

Morehead State, which has just one senior, has gotten a major lift this season from freshman Ricky Minard, a 6-foot-4 swingman who is having a big-time rookie campaign and is a virtual lock to capture OVC Freshman of the Year honors.

Minard is the OVC's sixth-leading scorer at 18.2 points per game. He is also fifth in field-goal shooting at 52 percent, seventh in free-throw shooting at 81 percent and fourth in 3-point shooting at 43 percent.

"He's really a good player, maybe the difference in their team this year," said Garner. "He's kind of their go-to player."

Kyle Umberger, a burly 6-7 junior center who has been a starter since his freshman season, averages 14.1 points per game while shooting better than 50 percent from the field.

"He just gets the job done," Garner said. "He's not flashy, but he's very consistent."

The Eagles have one other double-figure scorer in 6-1 senior guard Greg Hendricks (11.6 ppg).

Manning the point for the Eagles is 5-11 sophomore Marquis Sykes (6.4 ppg), who leads the OVC in assists at six a contest.

Morehead State's other starter is 6-8 sophomore center Iker Lopez (8.3 ppg).

Southeast is coming off an 82-63 non-conference win against Morris Brown in Atlanta Monday night, a victory Garner hopes the Indians can use as a solid springboard heading into their longest -- by distance -- OVC road trip of the season. Morehead, Ky., is approximately 400 miles from Cape Girardeau.

"The length of the trip alone makes it a tough one," said Garner. "It's a long bus ride, and you're going to play two teams that have not been at the top of the league in the past, so maybe you don't get as focused.

"If we were playing Murray State, it wouldn't matter if we traveled a thousand miles."

Southeast, however, has had success under Garner on what is commonly referred to around the OVC as the Death Valley' trip. The Indians have swept the trip the last two years and they have won the last 11 meetings combined against Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.