Racers survive Indians' rally

Southeast Missouri State University coach Gary Garner said his team's can't play any better than it did Saturday night.

But facing the Ohio Valley Conference's hottest squad, even that kind of performance wasn't quite good enough as Murray State hung on for an 92-86 win in front of 4,768 fans at the Show Me Center.

The Racers (15-11, 9-5 OVC) claimed their sixth straight victory and remained second in the nine-team league.

The Indians (5-20, 3-11) had their season-high two-game winning streak snapped and remained in an eighth-place tie with Eastern Kentucky, although the Colonels also lost Saturday so Southeast continues to hold the tie-breaker edge in the battle for the eighth and final OVC Tournament berth.

"My very first impression is I thought Murray State played a great basketball game," Garner said. "If they play like this, they're the best team in the league. I was really impressed.

"By the same token, I don't think we can play any better. We played as well as we can play. It was a great game and there were big baskets made on both sides."

Added Garner, "That's the third game in a row we've played well. I wish the season were starting now because we've gotten so much better."

Winans leads the way

Derek Winans led five Southeast players in double figures with 19 points. Tim Scheer had 18, Drew DeMond 12, Brett Hale 11 and Demetrius King 10. Walk-on Kevin Roberts dished out five assists.

"It's tough to lose when we play this well," Winans said. "We're really starting to come together and play as a team."

The Racers also had five players score in double figures, led by Cuthbert Victor with 20 points. Antione Whelchel and Antonio Henderson followed with 17 each, James Singleton had 15 and Justin Burdine added 12.

Both squads shot well from the field, the Indians at 54.4 percent and the Racers 51.7. MSU was better from the free-throw line, hitting 24 of 27 to Southeast's 17 of 25. But the Indians won the turnover battle with nine compared to the Racers' 13.

The big difference in the contest came on the boards. The Racers are one of the OVC's better rebounding teams while the Indians are one of the league's worst and that showed in a 40-21 MSU advantage. Whelchel had 12 rebounds and Victor nine.

"We could not keep them off the boards," Garner said. "If you get down to it, that's why we lost the game. We did well in every other area."

Said Whelchel, "Rebounding was a big key. Our coaches really emphasized it."

Southeast, which fell behind by eight points early, surged ahead by five late in the first half before the Racers rallied for a 42-41 halftime advantage.

The Racers came out on fire in the second half and appeared to have the game in hand several times, especially when they led 83-70 with just over three minutes to play.

But the Indians stormed back. Scheer had two 3-pointers in a 14-3 run, his second trey making it 86-84 with 49 seconds left.

The Indians were also within two at 88-86 after a DeMond follow dunk with 14 seconds left, but the Racers hit four free throws to ice the victory.

"We came back, but you have to give Murray credit," Winans said. "They made the big plays at the end."

mmishow@semissourian.com

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