SE SOLVES MCBRAYER FOR RECORD WIN; INDIANS WHIP EASTERN KENTUCKY 77-61

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team exorcised a demon Tuesday night -- and reached a Division I milestone in the process.

The Indians won for the first time ever at Eastern Kentucky's McBrayer Arena, posting a 77-61 victory to break an 0-7 skid on the Colonels' home court.

And by improving to 17-8 overall, the Indians surpassed their previous high single-season victory total since moving up to Division I eight years ago. Southeast posted a 16-11 mark in 1992-93.

Southeast, now 14-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play and long having clinched at least a best-ever second place in the OVC, moved to within 1 1/2 games of league-leading Murray Sate.

The Indians, who close out the regular season Saturday night at home against Eastern Illinois, can still tie Murray State for the OVC title, but the Racers would have to lose their final two games.

Regardless of that scenario, Southeast coach Gary Garner was simply happy to get out of Richmond with a victory because, even though EKU is having a miserable season, the game had him extremely concerned.

"I really was worried about this game," said Garner. "I just didn't know how ready to play we'd be. It was a game that really scared me.

"But at the same time, I felt we were a good enough defensive team that they couldn't score enough to beat us."

The Colonels, who fell to 3-21 overall and 2-14 in OVC play, are now assured of finishing in the cellar of the 10-team league.

Bud Eley paced a balanced Southeast offensive attack as he scored 15 points and also grabbed 16 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season. The Indians dominated the boards 45 to 25.

Kahn Cotton and Mike Branson each added 14 points, all of Branson's coming in the first half.

Cory Johnson was a fourth Southeast player in double figures with 10 points.

The Indians also got a big lift off the bench from Nathan Owen and Brian Bunche. Owen scored nine points while Bunche had eight points and eight rebounds.

"Kahn had been struggling some but he really played well at both ends of the floor," Garner said. "Nathan had a very good game. He really hustled out there. Brian did a really good job.

"Overall, it was a really good effort for us. We handled everything they threw at us."

Said Owen, "We knew their record wasn't good, but we knew we couldn't take them lightly. This was a big game for us because we want to keep our momentum going."

Whitney Robinson paced EKU with 20 points while Darius Acuff added 13.

EKU gave Southeast some early problems before the Indians ultimately took control of the first half.

Southeast used a 7-0 run to go ahead 12-5 in the early minutes, but an 11-0 EKU run gave the Colonels a 16-12 lead midway through the opening 20 minutes.

The Indians finally went ahead for good on Demetrius Watson's 10-foot shot that made it 19-18 with 8:40 left before halftime.

Branson's 3-pointer 35 seconds later put Southeast ahead 22-18 as the Indians began to pull away.

It was 27-23 when Owen drilled a 15-footer and Cotton scored on a drive to open up a 31-23 bulge.

Eley's drive at the two-minute mark gave the Indians their first double-figure lead at 35-25. Johnson, fouled attempting a 3-pointer, made all three free throws for a 38-25 advantage with 1:34 left.

The Colonels pulled to within 38-28, but Southeast scored the final four points of the half, including Cotton's fast-break layup with seven seconds left that made it 42-28 at the intermission.

Branson and Eley both had monster performances in the first half. Branson, hitting four of five 3-pointers, scored 14 points while Eley had nine points and 10 rebounds.

"Mike hitting those threes in the first half really got us going and off to a good start," said Garner. "That was very important for us."

Southeast shot 54 percent from the field (14 of 26) over the opening 20 minutes and the Indians also hit all 10 of their free throws, Eley and Johnson both going 5-for-5.

When Cotton drove for a basket, was fouled and made the free throw less than two minutes into the second half, the Indians had a 45-28 lead and appeared headed for an early knockout.

The Colonels did manage to pull within 51-43, but the Indians scored the next eight points to pretty much seal the verdict.

Southeast led by as many as 23 points at 73-50 before Garner was able to insert his walkons into the contest with still several minutes left to play.