INDIANS TIP OVER PANTHERS

Maybe the law of averages were working in Southeast Missouri State University's favor Saturday night.

The basketball Indians had lost four previous Ohio Valley Conference home games by a total of 11 points, with three of the defeats being by two points.

And the pattern in most of those setbacks had been painfully similar: Southeast would play relatively well for much of the way and build a second-half lead before falling just short down the stretch.

But the Indians reversed that trend Saturday, much to the delight of 5,460 fans at the Show Me Center. Emmanual McCuthison's tip-in with one second left lifted Southeast to a 75-73 win over Eastern Illinois.

"We were involved in four games like this that we lost," said Southeast coach Gary Garner, able to smile after an OVC home game for one of the few times this season. "We'd get the lead, then we haven't finished the game. I thought we really finished the game well tonight."

The Indians, continuing to build late-season momentum heading into the OVC Tournament, won their third straight game. Southeast is 16-11 overall and 6-8 in conference play; the Indians are now in a three-way tie for fifth place in the nine-team league.

EIU fell to 16-9 overall and 9-5 in the league as the Panthers saw their hopes of an OVC regular-season title take a major hit. EIU is tied for third and two games behind first-place Tennessee Tech with only two games to play, so the best the Panthers can hope for now is a co-championship.

"It's a tough loss for us," said EIU coach Rick Samuels. "We've been fortunate to win some close games. Both teams played well and we were in the game. If we get a break here or there..."

After more than 39 minutes of well-played, back-and-forth basketball -- the squads had only nine turnovers apiece and there were 16 lead changes along with eight ties -- the final seconds came down to two crucial plays.

The teams were deadlocked at 73-73 and EIU had the ball with under a minute left. The Panthers worked the shot clock down and fed inside to a streaking Jesse Mackinson, who ran over Southeast guard Michael Stokes on his way to the basket.

Stokes was given the charge call with 35 seconds left, so the Indians had possession for what they hoped would be a final shot.

Southeast called a timeout with 31 seconds left, then another with 10 seconds to go. Stokes then went one-on-one against Kyle Hill and put up about a 15-footer from the left side of the basket.

Stokes' shot bounced high off the rim and McCuthison swooped in for an acrobatic left-handed tip with just a second remaining.

All EIU could manage after that was a heave from well past mid-court by Hill that was way short.

Said McCuthison of the final possession, said, "It was drawn up for Stokie to either drive the lane or pull up and shoot, then we were supposed to crash the boards. I just happened to get it and tip it."

McCuthison led a balanced Southeast offensive attack with 14 points and he also grabbed six rebounds. Stokes had 13 points and seven assists while Antonio Short added 11 points.

"It feels good to finally win one of those games at home," said Short. "We've tried to stay positive at all times."

Drew DeMond contributed eight points, six rebounds and four assists. Tim Scheer continued his solid play off the bench with nine points and four assists while Damarcus Hence also continued to be a major factor off the bench as he had seven points. Scheer and Hence each hit huge 3-pointers late in the second half.

Hill, second in the OVC and 10th nationally in scoring with nearly 22 points per game, hit 12 of 20 shots and poured in 30 points. Teammate Henry Domercant, first in the OVC and second nationally in scoring at almost 24 points a game, added 23.

"I don't know how to guard those two guys," said Garner. "They're both great players."

Southeast, which has executed its offense to near-perfection over the past few games, shot 56 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the free-throw line.

"It's awfully tough to overcome that kind of shooting," said Samuels, whose squad shot 47 percent from the field.

After 10 first-half lead changes, the Indians entered the locker room up 32-31.

Southeast took charge at the outset of the second half and built the game's biggest lead at 49-39 after a Short basket with 12:42 remaining.

EIU came back and went ahead 61-60 on Hill's basket and free throw with 6:12 left.

Domercant scored four straight points as the Panthers grabbed their largest edge of the night at 69-65 with a little more than three minutes left.

McCuthison and Scheer drilled back-to-back 3-pointers as Southeast surged back on top 71-69.

Hill's two free throws with 2:16 left made it 71-71, Short's two free throws at the 1:51 mark put Southeast up 73-71 and Hill's driving shot with 1:38 remaining forged another tie at 73-73 to set up the thrilling finish.