Slumping Indians need a win badly vs. 'Roughnecks'

P Southeast tries to avenge physical kicking administered by Western Illinois Leathernecks.

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

If Southeast Missouri State University is to gain a much-needed victory tonight, the Indians will have to avenge a loss to a team that physically pushed them around less than a month ago.

Western Illinois (7-15) and Southeast (9-16) square off in a 7 p.m. non-conference game at the Show Me Center. The Indians will be out to break a five-game losing streak.

"We need a win really bad," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "When you're struggling like we are, you need to win."

On Jan. 21 in Macomb, Ill., the Leathernecks shot 73 percent in the second half -- thanks in large part to burly forwards Shawn Mason and Luis Rivas repeatedly muscling their way to easy inside baskets -- as they rallied to beat the Indians 84-75.

WIU shot 60 percent for the game. Southeast which led 42-35 at halftime and 62-54 with a little more than 12 minutes remaining, shot 52 percent and got a career-high 33 points from sophomore guard Derek Winans, who hit 14 of 19 shots.

But the Leathernecks' physical superiority inside proved to be the difference. Mason and Rivas both finished with 18 points.

"They just kicked us, I mean kicked us," Garner said. "We're going to have to do something about their post men."

Four WIU players are scoring in double figures, led by 6-foot-3 senior guard J.D. Summers at 13.4 points per game. Summers is shooting 40.5 percent from 3-point range.

Will Lewis, a 6-6 sophomore forward, averages 12.5 points per game, followed by 6-7 senior Rivas (11.4 ppg) and 6-5 senior Mason (10.2 ppg).

While the Indians are in a major slump, WIU is also struggling. The Leathernecks, in seventh place in the eight-team Mid-Continent Conference with a 3-7 record, had lost six straight since the Southeast victory before beating Chicago State Saturday.

Southeast is tied for seventh with Eastern Kentucky in the nine-team Ohio Valley Conference as the Indians have fallen to 4-9 after a 4-4 start.

The Indians, who are two games out of sixth place, will likely finish either seventh or eighth, meaning they would have to hit the road to take on the first-place or second-place finisher in the opening round of the OVC Tournament.

Right now, the Indians are simply looking to pick up a victory to build some momentum and gain a bit of confidence heading into their final three conference games of the regular season, including Saturday's home finale against second-place Austin Peay. Staying properly motivated is the key, Garner said.

"Our biggest thing is to get our guys motivated. It's so easy to just wait on the tournament," Garner said. "But we still have a lot to play for.OVC race still tight

Morehead State and Austin Peay, who were picked third and fifth, respectively, in the OVC's preseason poll, continue to wage quite a battle for the championship.

The Eagles (17-7, 11-2) lead the Governors (17-6, 10-2) by one-half game. They will square off on March 1 in Clarksville, Tenn., on the final date of the regular season, although both teams still have a few big games left before then. Austin Peay won the earlier meeting in Morehead, Ky. The Govs have posted nine consecutive victories.

Two-time defending OVC regular-season champion Tennessee Tech (15-11, 8-5) moved into third place with Monday's win over Eastern Kentucky. Murray State (14-9, 7-5) is a half-game back in fourth place. Those squads were expected to battle for the regular-season title.

Eastern Illinois (12-13, 7-6) and Tennessee-Martin (13-11, 6-7) hold down fifth and sixth but are still in the running for a first-round OVC Tournament home game. That reward goes to the top four finishers.

Eastern Kentucky (10-14, 4-9) and Southeast appear relegated to fighting it out for the seventh and eighth spots, with Tennessee State (2-21, 0-12) all but eliminated from the eight-team conference tournament. The Tigers have lost 17 straight games.

Eastern Kentucky has already clinched its first OVC Tournament berth since the 1997-98 season while Southeast will clinch a spot in the tournament with one more win or one more loss by Tennessee State.