INDIANS TAKE ON HIGH-FLYING SKYHAWKS

If Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team is to snap its four-game losing streak tonight, the Indians are going to have to knock off one of the Ohio Valley Conference's hottest squads on its home court.

Tennessee-Martin's Skyhawks are on a serious roll and are even in the hunt for a top-four conference finish heading into the 6 p.m. tipoff at Skyhawk Arena in Martin, Tenn.

"They're playing very well, probably as well as any team in the league right now," said Southeast coach Gary Garner of the Skyhawks, who have posted three straight impressive victories. "We've had trouble over there in the past and it's definitely going to be a very difficult game for us."

Last year, when the Indians tied for the OVC regular-season championship and went on to win the conference tournament to gain their first-ever NCAA Division I tourney berth, Southeast lost to the Skyhawks in Martin.

This year, the Indians aren't even close to contending for the OVC title despite being regarded as one of the prime contenders entering the season.

Southeast, which is 13-11 overall, dipped to 4-8 in OVC play following a fourth consecutive loss Thursday night, 65-54 at Murray State. The Indians are in eighth place in the nine-team league.

Since last-place Eastern Kentucky is winless in OVC play, the Indians are a virtual lock to qualify for the league tournament because eight of the nine squads get in. But the Indians will almost certainly have to open the tourney on the road for the first time since Garner's initial season at Southeast in 1997-98.

Departure from the norm

What has transpired this season is certainly a far cry from the last two years, when the Indians went a combined 29-7 in OVC play and finished at least second in the conference both seasons.

"It's really a frustrating time for our basketball program right now," Garner said. "I know I sound like a broken record, but we just have to keep taking it one practice at a time and try to break out of this."

Ending their longest losing streak during Garner's tenure at Southeast certainly won't be easy for the Indians tonight.

UTM is coming off Thursday's convincing 85-71 victory over Eastern Illinois, the OVC's second-place team. That triumph lifted the Skyhawks, who are 10-12 overall, into a fifth-place OVC tie with Morehead State as both squads are 5-6 and two games behind fourth-place Murray State.

"They're really a hot team and they've got a lot to play for right now," said Garner. "They're still in the running to get a home game for the conference tournament."

One of the victims during UTM's current three-game winning streak was Murray State. And earlier in the season the Skyhawks knocked off third-place Austin Peay, meaning they have beaten three of the league's top four teams.

The Skyhawks' balanced offensive attack features four players averaging in double figures, led by swingman Okechi Egbe at 13.3 points per game.

UTM's hottest player is forward Brian Foster, a transfer from Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff. The former junior-college All-American has scored 80 points in the last three games and he is averaging 12.8 points a contest.

Two more frontcourt players, Hayden Prescott and Jeremy Sargent, contribute 12.4 and 10.1 points per game, respectively.

"They've got a lot of solid players," said Garner. "Bret (Campbell, UTM's second-year coach) has really done a good job. They've really upgraded their talent level in the last two years."

Tonight's contest will be the Indians' final road game of the regular season. They close the campaign with four straight home dates, including three OVC matchups.