RAIDERS PILLAGE INDIANS' TOURNEY HOPES; SE SEASON ENDS WITH 89-74 LOSS

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- It was revenge time for Middle Tennessee State University's Blue Raiders Tuesday night.

MTSU had lost twice to Southeast Missouri State University during the regular season, including a buzzer defeat at home.

Tuesday, the Raiders got another crack at Southeast on their home court. And this time, it was the most important game of the three.

Getting 25 points from Nod Carter, the third-seeded Raiders beat the sixth-seeded Indians 89-74 in a first-round Ohio Valley Conference post-season men's basketball tournament game before about 2,500 fans at the Murphy Center.

The Raiders, who improved to 19-11, advance to Friday's OVC tourney semifinals at the Nashville Arena. MTSU will face Murray State Friday.

Southeast ends its season with a 12-18 record. TheIndians lost their last three games -- all on the road -- by a combined 68 points.

"If I knew the answer to what happened (the last three games), I could bottle it and sell it," said Southeast coach Ron Shumate. "I just don't know."

Torrey Moore added 17 points for the Raiders while Richard Duncan had 13, Roni Bailey 12 and Malachi Allen 10. Duncan dished out 10 assists.

Allen Hatchett, who did not start the game, paced the Indians with 22 points. Bud Eley scored 18 and Dante Bryant added 10.

When MTSU and Southeast met on Jan. 18 at the Murphy Center, the Indians left the court celebrating boisterously after Richard Lyte dunked with under one second remaining for a 78-76 victory.

The Raiders said they remembered that moment and didn't want it to happen again.

"Tonight was a great chance for us to get back at them," said Bailey. "The first two games, we didn't feel like we played as good as we could. Everybody played a great game tonight."

Said Carter, "It's a very big win for us. This is a team that's beaten us twice. We knew we had to play our best game. We had a really good effort."

MTSU built a huge halftime lead and then had to hold off a furious Southeast comeback in the second half of the third meeting between the teams.

Moore scored 12 points and Carter had 11 as the Raiders hit seven of 16 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes to lead 46-25 at the intermission.

"We played a really good first half," said MTSU coach Randy Wiel. "We shot the ball well and we played good defense. But we knew they would make a run at us because they're very athletic."

MTSU still appeared to be cruising along early in the second half when Southeast suddenly caught fire.

Trailing 57-39, the Indians used a 9-0 run to get back in the game. Hatchett had five points during the spurt and Eley's basket pulled the Tribe to within 57-48 with 12:08 remaining.

After the teams traded two baskets, the Indians continued their charge. Reggie Crisp's 18-footer and Eley's follow shot trimmed MTSU's lead to 61-56 with 8:34 still left to play.

Southeast then had two possessions to get even closer but failed to convert. And the Raiders took control of things again.

Duncan and Chad Wampler hit shots as the Raiders built their lead back to 65-56. Hatchett's basket made it 65-58, but the Raiders used a 6-0 run to go ahead 71-58.

The Indians never got closer than 11 points again as the Raiders were able to cruise down the stretch, leading by as many as 17 points.

"They shot the ball extremely well in the first half, almost 50 percent from 3-point range," Shumate said. "That got them the lead. I was proud of the way we battled back and got within five."

And now, while the Raiders are getting ready for the OVC tourney semifinals, the Indians will be looking ahead to next season. Shumate said Southeast needs to add some things.

"My expectations for this team were very high. I really had high expectations," said Shumate. "I'm really disappointed in the way it turned out.

"We definitely need added strength inside (next year). And we need shooters from the perimeter."