OTAHKS PLAY QUEEN OF HILL AGAINST TECH

One first-place Ohio Valley Conference showdown behind them -- and another one on the horizon for Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Otahkians.

The Otahkians, who moved into first place in the OVC by virtue of Thursday's 76-73 win over Middle Tennessee State, need another victory tonight to remain at the top of the 10-team league.

Tennessee Tech, which along with Middle Tennessee trails Southeast by one-half game, faces the Otahkians in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center.

"The way the league race is this year, nothing is probably going to be decided until the final game," said Southeast coach Ed Arnzen. "It's nice to be in first place right now, but it really doesn't mean a whole lot. We just have to keep winning."

The top four finishers in the OVC standings earn home games for the first round of the conference tournament. With four games to play for some teams, and five for others, first through fifth in the OVC is still very much up for grabs.

Southeast, Tennessee Tech and Middle Tennessee are all within one-half game of each other. The Otahkians are 11-3 in OVC play while Tech and Middle are both 10-3. And fourth-place Tennessee Martin is just 1 1/2 games out of first place at 9-4.

Then there is a little bit of separation as fifth-place Eastern Kentucky has dropped two straight to fall to 8-6. Murray State and Tennessee State, both at 6-7, are still in the running for one of the first-round home games.

Southeast is 16-6 overall while Tech is 14-7. The Golden Eaglettes, who won a share of last year's regular-season OVC title, were the preseason league favorites this season.

"They're a very good basketball team with the best center in the league," said Arnzen.

Tech is led by 6-foot-2 junior center Diane Seng, the 1997-98 OVC Female Athlete of the Year who is also a volleyball and track standout for the Golden Eaglettes. Seng averages more than 14 points per game.

"She's a very good player and it will be a big challenge for us to try and slow her down," Arnzen said. "We have a hard time defending the low post against Tennessee Tech and that's going to be one of the big keys."

The Golden Eaglettes defeated the Otahkians earlier this season, posting an 82-64 victory on Jan. 9 in Cookeville. Tech used a 10-0 run in the final five minutes to pull away.

Southeast enters tonight's game with an 11-0 home record, which no doubt gives the Otahkians plenty of confidence.

"I think we do play with a lot of confidence at home," said Arnzen. "We've been able to protect our home court all season and we need to do it again (tonight)."