SE's LYTE GOES OFF ON RAIDERS; INDIANS WIN AT BUZZER 78-76

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Richard Lyte slammed the basketball home -- and put out the lights on Middle Tennessee State University in the process.

Lyte, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, grabbed the rebound of a miss by Allen Hatchett and jammed the ball through the rim with six-tenths of a second remaining to give Southeast Missouri State University a thrilling 78-76 win over the Raiders Saturday afternoon.

The triumph, in front of 4,012 fans at MTSU's Murphy Center, kept the Indians in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 5-1 record. Southeast, by winning its fifth straight game, improved to 8-9 overall.

MTSU, which is 11-5 overall and 4-2 in the OVC, fell out of a first-place tie with the Indians.

The winning play began with about five seconds left when MTSU had possession in a 76-76 tie and was working for a final shot. But Southeast's Devron Kirksey tipped a pass, the Indians recovered and Hatchett broke loose.

Hatchett drove in for a left-handed layup with a defender draped all over him. The sophomore guard was probably fouled, but there was no call. The ball bounced off the rim and Lyte was there to jam it back in with both hands.

"I just jumped and watched for it," said a grinning Lyte. "I followed the ball all the way. I knew they weren't going to call a foul (on Hatchett's shot) that late in the game."

When a long MTSU pass was tipped away and rolled harmlessly out of bounds as the buzzer sounded, the Indians had secured the huge road victory.

"We had it all the way, didn't we," said Southeast coach Ron Shumate with a laugh.

Actually, for quite a while, it did look like the Indians had it all the way. They trailed most of the first half but rallied for a 37-34 halftime lead.

Then the Indians controlled most of the second half, building a 66-53 lead with just over nine minutes remaining. And Southeast was still ahead 73-65 with under six minutes to go.

But MTSU rallied furiously and took a 75-74 lead with a little more than three minutes left.

"We made a lot of mistakes late but we kept believing we could win," Shumate said. "I tried to keep things as positive as I could. Their press really caused us a lot of problems, but we kept believing. We got some big baskets and it's a great win."

Calvert White led the Indians offensively with a career-high 25 points as he hit nine of 14 shots from the field and all three of his 3-point attempts.

"We never quit. We stayed in there," said White. "They made a run, but we stayed positive. This is a big one for us."

Lyte, who has been coming on strong in recent weeks, scored a career-high 19 points as he hit eight of 11 shots and also nailed all three of his 3-point attempts. Lyte, who pulled down seven rebounds, had another monster follow dunk in addition to his game-winner.

Bud Eley added 12 points despite playing just 23 minutes because of foul trouble. Eley eventually fouled out with 5:57 left.

David Montgomery chipped in with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Hatchett contributed seven points, six rebounds and six assists.

MTSU got a game-high 28 points from Nod Carter, whose 18 second-half points helped fuel the Raiders' comeback. Roni Bailey added 20 points.

"You hate losing that way," said MTSU coach Randy Wiel. "But we had a chance to win the game at the end."

The Indians prevailed despite committing 26 turnovers. They hit half of their shots -- 32 of 64 -- and shot 53 percent in the second half.

A 10-0 run late in the first half wiped out a 32-25 MTSU lead and gave the Indians an advantage they would keep for all but a few moments late in the contest.

Southeast built its biggest lead of the game on Lyte's follow dunk with 9:02 left that made it 66-53.

Another Lyte follow shot put the Indians ahead 73-65 and appeared to blunt an MTSU charge.

But the Raiders used a 7-0 run to pull within a point, then Carter's alley-oop jam with 3:32 left knotted the contest at 74-74.

Torrey Moore hit one of two free throws with 3:07 remaining to put the Raiders ahead 75-74. It was their first lead since the opening half.

The did not change until 1:20 left when White scored off a feed from Hatchett, putting the Indians back on top 76-75.

The Raiders missed a shot and Southeast grabbed the rebound with a chance to pad its tenuous advantage. But the Indians turned the ball over.

With 32 seconds left, Bailey was hammered on a shot inside. He made the first free throw to tie the game at 76 but missed the second. The Raiders, however, grabbed the rebound.

MTSU was then working for a final shot when Kirksey tipped the ball away from Richard Duncan, leading to the final sequence that ended with Lyte's dunk.