SE AT TENNESSEE-MARTIN TONIGHT

Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Gary Garner preaches that he wants the Indians to take things one game at a time.

That being said, Garner did enter this critical week for his Indians with a definite overall goal in mind.

The plan: win at least two out of three games this week, with all the contests being played on the road.

Phase one of that plan worked to perfection Tuesday night as the Indians slipped past Tennessee State 60-59 in Nashville.

Garner hopes the Indians can achieve their goal for the week with one game to spare tonight when Southeast takes on Tennessee-Martin in a 7 o'clock Ohio Valley Conference contest at Skyhawk Arena.

The reason Garner wants to get those two wins out of the way against the Skyhawks is that the third and final leg of this three-game road swing -- Saturday's contest at powerhouse Murray State -- will pit the Indians as a heavy underdog.

Not that Garner doesn't think the Indians have a chance to beat the mighty Racers. It's just that he would love going into that game with a 2-0 week already secure, meaning Southeast could play nice and loose as it bids for the upset.

"We started off the week great by beating Tennessee State," said Garner. "That was a big win for us. Any win you can get on the road is a big one.

"Now we have to go and get another won at Tennessee-Martin. If we could be 2-0 this week heading into the Murray game, boy, that would be great. That would really take a lot of the pressure off and we could go to Murray really nice and loose."

But Garner knows that beating the Skyhawks tonight certainly won't be easy. UTM, which is still not eligible for the OVC post-season tournament because it is a newer NCAA Division I member, has been one of the league's early-season surprises.

The Skyhawks, under veteran coach Cal Luther, were picked to finish near the bottom of the OVC standings. But they're off to a 4-2 start, good for fourth place in the 10-team league. UTM is 5-9 overall.

"They're really playing well," said Garner. "

UTM is coming off a 68-66 overtime win at Morehead State Tuesday night. The Skyhawks' only two league losses so far have been to Murray State and Middle Tennessee State, arguably the OVC's top two teams.

Ryan DeMichael and Joe Crumby, a pair of 6-foot-8 juniors, are UTM's top scorers at 13.5 and 12.9 points per game, respectively.

DeMichael also pulls down 10.1 rebounds per game to lead the OVC and his 27 blocked shots are third in the league.

Jason Ohlsen, a 6-2 junior guard, adds 10.1 points per game for the Skyhawks and he is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.

"Their two big guys (Crumby and DeMichael) are really active and are good athletes," Garner said. "Then the Ohlsen kid can really shoot the ball and (6-5 forward) Hamp Harper is a really good slasher.

"They really like to break with the ball, which is something that surprised me. They like to flat get out and down the floor. It's going to be a very tough game for us."

Southeast climbed over the .500 mark in OVC play at 4-3 after Tuesday's thrilling victory. The Indians, 8-7 overall, are in fifth place in the league, right behind the Skyhawks.

Southeast got a big lift from the return of 6-10 center Bud Eley, who had missed seven straight games with a broken bone in his right foot. Eley was a presence inside with 11 rebounds and, although he struggled some offensively, added seven points.

"Getting Bud back was really important," said Garner. "He's such a presence inside. He's still not in good shape, but he played 21 minutes. The more he plays, the better his conditioning will be."

Cory Johnson led the way with 16 points while also in double figures were Demetrius Watson (14), Kahn Cotton (11) and Calvert White (10).

Johnson, who previously had not made enough free throws to qualify among the OVC leaders, has now moved to the top of the league in that category. He's shooting 88.6 percent and has hit all 22 of his foul shots in conference play.

Johnson is also first in the OVC in 3-pointers made per game (3.47), which ranks him 10th nationally.

SEMO at Tennessee-Martin

7 p.m., Martin, Tenn.

Probable Starters

SEMO (8-7, 4-3 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Calvert White F Sr. 6-4 9.5

Demetrius Watson F Jr. 6-4 8.9

David Mongomery C Jr. 6-8 9.7

Cory Johnson G Jr. 6-0 13.8

Kahn Cotton G Jr. 5-10 11.6

UTM (5-9, 4-2 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Hamp Harper F Sr. 6-5 6.4

Joe Crumby F Jr. 6-8 12.9

Ryan DeMichael C Jr. 6-8 13.5

Roger Castle G Sr. 6-3 2.5

Jason Ohlsen G Jr. 6-2 10.1

Series: SEMO leads 25-12

Radio: K103-FM