SE ENDS BUZZER ACT 78-65; INDIANS POST A RARE COMFORTABLE WIN, BEAT EAGLES

You have to go back over a month to find the last time Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team won a game by more than three points.

It was with much relief, then, that the Indians welcomed their impressive 78-65 dismantling of Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech Saturday night in front of 4,812 fans at the Show Me Center.

"It was nice to have a good lead for a change," said Southeast forward David Montgomery with a smile. "I think our defense did it for us."

And what the victory did for the Indians was keep them squarely in the hunt for a top-four finish in the 10-team OVC. That's important because the top four squads in the final regular-season standings earn home games for the first round of the conference tournament.

Southeast is now 11-15 overall and 8-7 in OVC play, tied for fifth place with Eastern Illinois.

Tennessee Tech, which fell to 13-11 overall, is a fourth-place 9-7 in the OVC and just one-half game ahead of both Southeast and Eastern Illinois.

Also still within sight of the Indians, who have three regular-season games left, are Middle Tennessee State and Murray State, both tied for second at 10-6. Austin Peay leads the league at 11-5. The Indians will host Middle Tennessee Monday night.

"This was a gratifying win for us," said Southeast coach Ron Shumate, whose squad broke a three-game losing streak. "This keeps us right in the hunt (for a top-four finish)."

The Indians received balanced scoring as Allen Hatchett and Calvert White led the way with 17 points apiece while Montgomery and Bud Eley both contributed 16.

Hatchett, a sophomore point guard, had missed virtually all of the past two games with tendinitis in his knees. The Indians dropped both contests, at Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

But Hatchett -- after plenty of rest along with treatment from Southeast trainer Lance McNamara and his staff -- looked rejuvenated Saturday night. In addition to his scoring, the former Sikeston High all-stater dished out five assists in 32 minutes of action as he was named Copi-Rite Player of the Game.

"The time off was good and the trainers had some great treatment for me," said Hatchett. "My knees didn't bother me at all. I thank my trainers for taking care of me.

"I was worried about not being in shape. I started off breathing a little heavy, but I was fine after that. We really needed this game."

Said Shumate, "Allen made a big difference. He makes us go. We're much more fluid with him. He bounced back and had an outstanding game.

"David Montgomery also really stepped up. He played probably as well as he's played in quite a while."

Curtis Wiggins led the Eagles with 17 points while Chris Turner had 14 and Albert Wilson added 10.

The Indians limited 7-foot-1 center Lorenzo Coleman to just nine points and six rebounds as he was plagued by foul trouble. Coleman came into the game averaging nearly 17 points and 13 rebounds.

"I thought we caused them some problems defensively," Shumate said. "We did a good job on Coleman. He got into some foul trouble, but so did Bud. I thought both teams played pretty well without their big men."

Southeast trailed only briefly all night. Tech grabbed a 12-7 lead in the early going and the Eagles still lead 14-11 when the Indians went on a 7-0 run to go up 18-14.

The Indians never looked back after that. They led 31-26 at halftime despite seeing Tech shoot 60 percent from the field (12 of 20) over the opening 20 minutes.

Southeast picked up its defense in the second half, holding the Eagles to 38 percent shooting. And the Indians began to break the game open.

The Tribe scored the first eight points of the second half to go ahead 39-26. Coleman was hit with a technical foul -- his fourth foul of the game -- at the 17:18 mark. He immediately went to the bench.

With Coleman out of the contest, the Indians were able to dominate the inside. Eley's conventional three-point play put Southeast ahead 42-28 with just over 16 minutes left.

Even though Coleman came back later and never did foul out, Tech was not able to get closer than nine points. Southeast pushed its lead to 64-46 and coasted home.

"This is a big win for us," Montgomery said. "Now we just have to try and keep it going."

Now that the Indians have caught up with Tech and Eastern Illinois in the loss column, they'll have a chance to do the same to Middle Tennessee as the Raiders come to town for Monday's 7:45 p.m. contest.

"That's another big game for us," said Hatchett. "We have to be ready to play again."