RACERS REMAIN IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT; SE DROPS OVC SHOWDOWN 62-52

MURRAY, Ky. -- Murray State is known as one of the nation's most explosive college basketball teams and the Racers don't need very long to bury an opponent.

In a span of less than a minute Thursday night, the Racers detonated on Southeast Missouri State University -- and that explosion was basically the difference as Murray State took control of the Ohio Valley Conference race.

The Racers, unleashing a full-court press than rattled the Indians, scored the first 13 points of the second half -- including 10 in 47 seconds -- and they held on for a 62-52 victory in front of 8,602 fans at the Regional Special Events Center.

The crowd was the largest to watch a basketball game in the Regional Special Events Center, which is in its first year of existence.

Murray State, which has won or shared 10 of the past 11 OVC regular-season titles, improved to 22-4 overall and 14-1 in league play. The Racers won their nation-best 41st straight home game and beat the Indians for the 14th consecutive time.

Southeast, cheered on by more than 700 fans who made the trek from Cape Girardeau, fell to 15-8 overall and 12-3 in OVC play. With three regular-season contests remaining, the Indians -- who have already locked up second place in the OVC -- trail the Racers by two games.

"We played really hard and we did pretty much exactly what we wanted to do for just about the whole game, except for that one spurt," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "But that one spurt killed us. In a game like this, that's usually what it comes down to."

For most of the game, the Indians executed their game plan to near perfection as they showed patience on offense, slowed down the Racers' vaunted fast break and held a 40 to 37 rebounding edge.

But all it took was that one spurt at the start of the second half for the Racers to take control. In almost the blink of an eye, they wiped out a 28-26 halftime deficit, went ahead 39-28 and then fended off several strong Southeast charges down the stretch.

"I knew it would be a close game like this," said Garner. "That one spurt just really changed the tempo and complexion of the game."

Roderick Johnson led the Indians offensively with 15 points while Bud Eley scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

"We played tough, but they hurt us in that one stretch," said Johnson. "Hopefully we'll meet them again (in the OVC Tournament)."

Murray State got 16 points from Aubrey Reese, 13 from Isaac Spencer, 11 from Rod Murray and 10 from Duane Virgil.

In a defensive battle, neither team shot well. Southeast hit 16 of 46 for 35 percent while Murray State was 18-for-57 for 32 percent.

"It was a defensive game, with two good defensive teams going at it," said Murray State coach Tevester Anderson. "SEMO has an excellent team and we knew it would be a tough game."

Just 26 seconds into the second half, Murray drilled a 3-pointer to put the Racers ahead 29-28.

Spencer then hit one of two free throws with 18:18 remaining -- and that began a string of 10 Murray State points in 47 seconds that sent the Racers' fans in a frenzy.

After a Murray State steal, Marlon Towns hit two free throws to make it 32-28. Then Murray stole the inbounds pass and scored to make it 34-28.

Another Racers' steal led to Virgil's follow shot, then yet another steal resulted in a driving basket by Reese. He was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to make it 39-28 with 17:31 still to play.

"Before the game, we knew we had to do three things: rebound with them, have patience on offense and stop their fast break," Garner said. "We did those three things pretty much the whole game except for that one little stretch.

"If you had told me the score would be in the 60s, I would have thought we'd have a very good chance to win the game."

To the Indians' credit, they certainly didn't fold -- and were even able to make things interesting.

After again falling behind by 11 points at 41-30, Southeast steadily chipped away at the Racers.

Kahn Cotton's 3-pointer with 8:43 left brought the Indians to within 45-39 and Johnson's two free throws 38 seconds later made it 45-41.

Johnson made one of two foul shots at the 7:23 mark to pull Southeast to within 47-44. The Indians then had a chance to tie, but Cotton's 3-point attempt was off the mark.

Murray State surged back ahead 51-44, but Eley's two free throws at the 4:49 mark again pulled the Indians to within three at 51-48.

That, however, was as close as Southeast could get. The Indians went scoreless for the next 4:29 as the Racers salted the game away with a 7-0 run that gave them an insurmountable 10-point lead with under a minute to play.

"I was really proud of the guys that we got back in it," said Garner. "We had opportunities and if we hit some shots, who knows what happens.

"But we really played hard and I'm really proud of the guys."

The first-half tempo was totally to the Indians' liking as they carried a two-point lead into the break.

Murray State took an early 15-9 lead, but the Racers went scoreless for more than six minutes -- a span during which the Indians put up 12 points to go ahead.

Freshman point guard Fred Abraham helped spark the rally by coming off the bench to hit a pair of big baskets, including a 15-footer that tied the contest at 15-all.

R. Johnson, Abraham and Eley all then scored as the Indians grabbed a 21-15 lead with 6:45 remaining before halftime.

Murray State finally broke its lengthy drought to pull within 21-17, but Cory Johnson then scored five quick points -- on a driving shot and a long 3-pointer -- as the Indians opened up their biggest lead of 26-17 with 5:28 left.

The Indians later led 28-21, but the Racers scored the half's final five points to make it 28-26 at the intermission.