SE TAMES GRIZZLIES TO IMPROVE TO 3-0

It was probably fitting that Brian Bunche was Southeast Missouri State University's No. 1 star during the Indians' hard-earned 66-61 victory over Montana Saturday night.

The win, which came in front of 4,233 fans at the Show Me Center and pushed Southeast to 3-0, was forged through gritty, hard-nosed play moreso than sharp execution.

And Bunche, the Indians' rugged 6-foot-8, 240-pound senior center, could be the poster child for that style of play.

Bunche clawed and scratched his way for 12 points, a game-high 10 rebounds -- including an amazing eight offensive boards -- and countless floor burns to help the Indians hold off the scrappy Grizzlies.

Bunche, who also had two steals, even took a wild spill over the Montana bench in saving a loose ball to a teammate."Brian had a great game tonight," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "Without question, he was the MVP of this game. His defense was great, he really hit the boards and he scored some baskets."Said a smiling Bunche, who was primarily a defensive specialist for the Indians last season in backing up Bud Eley, "Whatever I can do to help the team win, I'll do."And Bunche had plenty of help in keeping the Indians undefeated on a night when they played without starting shooting guard Antonio Short (out with a sprained wrist) and saw point guard Michael Stokes struggle with foul problems.

Senior forward Roderick Johnson led the Indians offensively with 15 points."It was a tough game," said Johnson. "Coach told us it would be."Junior swingman Emmanuel McCuthison, who had struggled some during the Indians' first two games, had his best performance as he came off the bench to hit three of five 3-pointers and score 12 points."Emmanuel gave us a huge lift," Garner said.

Said McCuthison, "I had been struggling a little bit. When I hit the first three, it kind of lifted weight off my shoulders. It was a hard-fought game, but we pulled together."With Short out of action, only seven players hit the floor for the Indians. Stokes, Mike Branson and Amory Sanders all added seven points while Nyah Jones contributed six.

Garner anticipated a fierce 40-minute struggle against the Grizzlies of the Big Sky Conference, who had given 25th-ranked Gonzaga a battle earlier this season. Montana is now 1-2."The intensity of that game from the opening buzzer to the end was really something," said Garner. "I anticipated this kind of game. I told the team we'd have to play really hard for 40 minutes."I thought we got a great defensive effort. That kept us in the game because we weren't really sharp offensively. This is a good win for us because I think Montana is going to do very well in their conference."Montana was paced by talented sophomore point guard Shane Christianson, who scored 18 points. Center Matt Williams, last year's runnerup for Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year honors, added 13 points while Dan Carter contributed 10.

The game was extremely tight the entire way, although the Indians did get off to a good start by scoring the first seven points, on a Sanders 3-pointer, a Johnson basket and two Bunche free throws.

A few moments later, Johnson turned in the highlight play of the night when he went from the opposite side of the basket for a monster one-handed jam, exciting the crowd and putting Southeast on top 9-2.

But the Indians could never shake the Grizzlies, who forced a couple of first-half ties before falling behind 34-30 at the break.

Southeast went ahead by seven points twice early in the second half before Montana again battled back to tie things.

Montana finally grabbed its first lead of the contest as Jared Buckmaster's 3-point play inside with 11:09 left put the Grizzlies ahead 50-48.

Stokes made two free throws with 10:18 left to tie things at 50-50 and Johnson hit one of two foul shots with 9:12 remaining to put the Indians ahead 51-50. Southeast never trailed again, although things remained extremely tight until the closing moments.

The Indians were clinging to a 53-52 lead when Sanders hit two free throws and McCuthison drove for a 3-point play, putting Southeast ahead 58-52 with 4:45 remaining.

Montana pulled to within three points twice, but Sanders scored with 3:34 left and Branson got a basket at the 1:11 mark to make it 64-57 and give the Indians just enough to hold on.