INDIANS RECOVER WIN IN OT; SOUTHEAST BLOWS 18-POINT LEAD TO UTM, WINS 82-72

From rout to relief. That pretty much sums up Southeast Missouri State University's basketball experience Thursday night.

The Indians appeared to be headed for a lopsided victory when they opened up a 61-43 lead over Tennessee-Martin with under 10 minutes to play in the second half.

But almost as quickly as you can say rout, the Skyhawks exploded with an 18-0 run and eventually forced overtime.

Ultimately, it was a relieved bunch of Indians who squeezed out an 82-72 Ohio Valley Conference victory in front of 3,712 fans at the Show Me Center.

"It's a great victory for us, but we let an 18-point lead slide away," said Southeast guard Lakeo Keller, who scored five points in overtime. "We got lackadaisical. We took them for granted. You can't do that. We have to stay on people."

Lackadaisical or not, the Indians were able to get their three-game homestand off on the right foot. Southeast improved to 5-9 overall and 2-1 in OVC play heading into Saturday's 5 p.m. contest against Eastern Kentucky.

UTM fell to 3-8 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

"We're really pleased to have won the ballgame," said Southeast coach Ron Shumate. "We bit the bullet tonight. We could have easily lost.

"Tennessee-Martin deserves a lot of credit for coming back from 18 points down. And they had a very good shot to win the game. They have a very good team. They play team oriented."

Calvert White led the Indians offensively with 19 points. Bud Eley scored 13 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, Allen Hatchett -- the Copi-Rite Player of the Game -- had 12 points while David Montgomery scored 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds.

Art Castle paced the Skyhawks with 12 points while Joe Crumby added 11.

"I'm really proud of the guys," said UTM coach Cal Luther. "We're not as talented as a lot of teams but they really played hard. SEMO is an awfully talented team."

The Indians looked every bit the part for much of the game. White scored 13 points as Southeast -- after leading 36-21 -- carried a 36-26 advantage into halftime.

UTM pulled to within 48-43 on a 3-point basket by Ryan Owen with 11:27 left in the second half.

But then the Indians appeared to put out the lights on the Skyhawks. In just over two minutes, Southeast scored 13 consecutive points.

Reggie Crisp, the Indians' lone senior who came into the game averaging just 2.9 points a contest and had not been playing all that many minutes, scored all eight of his points during that stretch.

When another reserve, Travis Smith, buried a 3-pointer to cap the run, Southeast led 61-43 and the only suspense left appeared to be the final margin of victory.

The Skyhawks, however, had other ideas. They quickly drilled three straight 3-pointers to make it 61-52. And later, two free throws by Owens with 4:33 left capped an 18-0 run and tied the contest at 61-61.

"We got out of our game and started playing too much as individuals," Shumate said.

Southeast went back ahead three times down the stretch, but UTM answered every challenge. The Skyhawks even had the ball in the closing moments, but misfired. White also was off on a 15-footer in the final few seconds, so the teams were on to overtime tied at 66.

Keller and Montgomery both scored five points while Hatchett added four in the five-minute extra session.

Montgomery scored on a follow shot to put the Indians ahead 68-66, but William McFadden's steal and layup knotted the contest once again.

The Indians then took control for good with a 7-0 run. Hatchett scored on consecutive strong drives to the basket, Eley hit one of two free throws and Keller nailed two foul shots.

After a UTM basket that made it 75-70 with 2:15 left, Keller hit three of four free throws and Eley and Montgomery both made one foul shot to open up a 10-point bulge.

"We're 2-1 in the conference now with two more big games left (in the homestand)," said Shumate. "Eastern Kentucky will come in here Saturday with an excellent team. That's going to be a big challenge for us."