SOUTHEAST SWEEPS ASIDE MTSU IN SEMIS 78-60

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Middle Tennessee State entered the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament as the league's hottest team.

But no matter what the Raiders try, they are simply no match for Southeast Missouri State University's Indians.

The Indians posted their third lopsided victory over the Raiders this season, rolling 78-60 Saturday in the OVC Tournament semifinals at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

So No. 2 seed Southeast, for the second year in a row, will play for the tourney championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Indians and No. 1 seed Murray State will square off at 1:30 p.m. today in a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Southeast and Murray State, the league's co-champions in the regular season, split a pair of meetings this year, the Indians winning in Murray, Ky., and the Racers prevailing in Cape Girardeau.

A year ago, in one of the OVC Tournament's more memorable finals, Murray State's Aubrey Reese hit a near-miraculous shot at the buzzer to stun Southeast 62-61, denying the Indians their first-ever NCAA tourney berth on the Division I level.

"Here we go again," said Southeast coach Gary Garner of today's championship battle. "I think it will be a great game. It's what the fans want to see."

Southeast improved to 23-6 with the triumph over a MTSU squad that had won 10 of its previous 12 games. The No. 6 seeded Raiders finished the season at 15-13.

"I can't really tell you why we've had so much success against Middle Tennessee this year," Garner said. "But we've played well against them all three times."

Michael Stokes led the Indians offensively with 22 points and he continued his recent red-hot long-range shooting by hitting three of five 3-point attempts. Stokes also dished out four assists.

Roderick Johnson scored 14 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.

"We knew rebounding would be a big key," said Johnson. "Any time we play Middle Tennessee, it's always important."

Amory Sanders came off the bench to add 10 points for the Indians. Mike Branson scored nine points while Antonio Short contributed eight points, as did Nyah Jones off the bench.

"We got contributions from a lot of people," said Garner, who also liked the fact his team had only seven turnovers. "We've been prone to turnovers. When we only have seven turnovers, we have a really good chance to win."

Fernando Ortiz paced MTSU with 12 points while Ron McKnight added 10. Lee Nosse, a 6-foot-11 center who had averaged nearly 25 points in his last four games, was limited to eight points.

"I think they did a good job on Nosse," said MTSU coach Randy Wiel of the Indians' defensive effort. "That's a good game plan, to stop Nosse."

MTSU scored the game's first two points, but the Raiders had little else to cheer about during an opening half that saw them shoot just 20 percent from the field (six of 30). The Indians led 43-25 at the intermission.

"We wanted to come out strong and keep it up for 40 minutes," said Stokes.

Said Garner of the Indians' fast start, "I thought the first half was as good a defensive basketball as we've played all year. We had great effort."

After the Raiders led 2-0 in the opening seconds, Branson and Stokes hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Indians ahead 6-2.

The Raiders pulled into a 6-6 tie, but the Indians used an 11-0 run to take control of the first half. Short hit a shot in the lane, Johnson got a steal and dunk, Johnson scored a conventional three-point play, Stokes drove for a basket and Brian Bunche got a layup off a nice feed from Stokes as Southeast went up 17-6.

It was 19-9 when Southeast used a quick 6-0 burst -- Jones and Short got baskets while Stokes hit two free throws -- to open up a 25-9 advantage.

After MTSU pulled to within 28-16, Southeast hit the Raiders with another 11-0 run to capture its biggest lead of the opening half at 39-16, although MTSU was able to pull within 43-25 by the break.

"We played SEMO three times and every time we played them, we dug ourselves a hole," Wiel said. "Early in the game, we weren't running our offense. We took some quick shots."

MTSU made sure the Indians would not have a total waltz into the finals as the Raiders got to within nine points three times in the second half, the last coming at 65-56 with just under five minutes left.

But Stokes stemmed the tide by splitting the entire MTSU defense for a layup and then draining a 3-pointer as the Indians opened up a 70-56 lead.

After the Raiders got within 70-58, Sanders hit a 3-pointer to make it 73-58 with under three minutes left as the Indians finally buried MTSU for good. Southeast went on to score the game's next five points, all from the free-throw line.

"In the second half, we played basketball like we know how, but I think we expended too much energy trying to come back," said Wiel. "SEMO is a good team. For us to play with them, we have to play our best."

Now the Indians will turn their attention to the championship game as they again are on the threshold of their first-ever NCAA Division I tourney berth.

Johnson, who played in last year's thrilling final, and Stokes, who watched the game on television while attending Trinity Valley Junior College in Texas, both said they can't wait.

"It's going to be a great game," said Stokes. "We're really looking forward to it."

Added Johnson, "It's going to be exciting, with the two big rivals, the fans, the intensity. It's how it should be, with the two (regular-season) champions playing in the finals."