SE GETS CHANCE TO REPAY 2 OT LOSS

A little revenge -- and compiling a two-game winning streak -- will be on the minds of Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians tonight.

When Southeast hosts Eastern Kentucky in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center, the Indians will be looking to avenge an 82-79 double overtime loss to the Colonels on Jan. 5 in Richmond, Ky.

The Indians will also be looking to build on Thursday's 99-79 win over Morehead State before they head back out on the road for three games.

"Winning Thursday was really big for us. We had to have it. And this game is exactly the same. It's one we have to have," said Southeast coach Gary Garner, whose squad is chasing a fourth-place finish in the 10-team Ohio Valley Conference in order to secure a first-round OVC Tournament home game. "If we want to have a shot at the top four, we've got to win it."

Southeast, 9-10 overall, is 5-6 in OVC play. The Indians are in fifth place in the league and just one-half game behind fourth-place Austin Peay, which is 5-5. Southeast and Austin Peay square off Monday night in Clarksville, Tenn.

"We're still very much in the running (for a first-round OVC tourney home game)," Garner said. "We've just got to get this win (tonight), get back to .500 in the league and then see what happens at Austin Peay and with the rest of our games."

EKU (5-13, overall, 4-7 OVC) is also alive for a first-round tournament game at home since the league is extremely scrambled past the top three teams of Murray State, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Illinois. Those squads are all tied for first place at 9-2.

"They're a talented basketball team," said Garner. "They really beat us good on the boards when we played them at their place and that's what we're going to have to do better in this game."

The Colonels, who have played well in recent weeks and lost 72-68 in overtime at Eastern Illinois Thursday night, are led by 6-foot-4 junior guard Mark Williams, who averages just under 16 points per game and scored 23 against Southeast in the earlier meeting.

Shane Carnes, a 6-1 junior guard who used to play at Tennessee, contributes a little more than 11 points per contest.

Marty Thomas, a 6-5 junior guard/forward who comes off the bench, is EKU's other double-figure scorer at about 10 points per game.

David Evans, a 6-5 sophomore forward who only averages about eight points a contest, burned the Indians in the earlier game by scoring 19.

Southeast rallied from a double-digit, second-half deficit to take a late lead in the earlier meeting between the teams. But EKU reserve guard Chris Fitzgerald hit a late 3-pointer to force overtime and the Colonels eventually prevailed in double overtime.

The Indians, playing their first game without 6-10 center Bud Eley (broken foot) and 6-4 forward Demetrius Watson (broken toe), were impressive in demolishing Morehead State Thursday night.

Five players scored in double figures, led by Cory Johnson with 20 points and freshman Nathan Owen with a career-high 16 in his first collegiate start.

"I thought we had a very good performance," Garner said. "We played with a lot of enthusiasm and we got really good contributions from all of our players.

"It's going to take another performance like that because Eastern Kentucky has been playing very well lately. They took Eastern Illinois to overtime at Eastern, so that tells you what kind of basketball they're playing."

Garner is hoping he'll be able to -- literally -- witness another good performance by the Indians tonight. He's scheduled to be in Fort Myers, Fla., early today with a group from Southeast that has to appear before the NCAA infractions committee regarding the ongoing investigation into the school's men's basketball program.

If the meeting with the infractions committee ends in time, then Garner will be able to catch a flight back to St. Louis and arrive in Cape Girardeau by tipoff. If not, then he'll miss the game and his assistant coaches will run the show.

"Hopefully I'll be able to make it," he said. "I've never missed a game in my life. I would hate to miss this one."

A win over EKU would not only get the Indians to the .500 mark, it would also be the 1,000th victory in the history of the program. Southeast has compiled a 999-790 record in men's basketball since 1906.

Eastern Kentucky at SEMO

7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

Probable Starters

SEMO (9-10, 5-6 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Calvert White F Sr. 6-4 10.2

Nathan Owen F Fr. 6-2 3.8

David Montgomery C Jr. 6-8 10.1

Cory Johnson G Jr. 6-0 14.3

Kahn Cotton G Jr. 5-10 11.8

EKU (5-13, 4-7 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

David Evans F So. 6-5 8.0

Aaron Cecil F Sr. 6-6 8.2

Derrick Wilder C Jr. 6-8 2.5

Shane Carnes G Jr. 6-1 11.2

Mark Williams G Jr. 6-4 15.8

Series: EKU leads 9-4

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