THE LATEST LINE: INDIANS KEEP COMUN UP JUST SHORT

MURRAY, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Gary Garner had a feeling entering this season that the Indians would be involved in a lot of close games.

How they fared in those close contests would ultimately determine what type of season Garner's first Southeast squad would have.

So far, the Indians have not had much luck in down-to-the-wire affairs. And that has kept SEMO from being one of the Ohio Valley Conference's surprise teams through the first half of league play.

Saturday's 101-66 loss here to OVC powerhouse Murray State -- it was Southeast's first conference blowout loss of the season -- dropped the Indians to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in the league.

Considering that Garner and his first-year staff implemented a new system, considering that the Indians have their share of weaknesses and considering that standout center Bud Eley missed seven games with a broken foot, any sensible SEMO fan has to be pleased with what has gone on so far this season.

Sure, it would be nice to have a better record. Five heart-breaking defeats -- including three overtime losses in conference play -- have made sure that isn't the case right now.

But at the exact halfway point of OVC play (there are nine league games remaining), the Indians have -- despite two straight losses -- set themselves up for a potential high conference finish.

One of the major goals of the Indians' first-year coaching staff was to earn a home game for the first round of the OVC tournament. The top eight squads in the 10-team league make the tourney, with the top four getting first-round home contests.

Garner knew the Indians would have to do some serious playing to get in the top four and he knew they would have to win their share of close games.

Even though they haven't really won their share of those close contests, the Indians are still in decent shape entering the second half of OVC play.

Murray State, now 7-1, and Middle Tennessee, 6-1 prior to a late game Saturday, appear to be the class of the OVC and it will probably be a surprise if they don't finish as the top two teams.

But a host of teams appear to have a solid shot at gaining those next two spots, with SEMO right in that mix.

Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin were both 5-2 before playing each other Saturday night, but UTM is not yet eligible for the OVC tourney, so squads hoping for a top-four finish don't have to worry about catching the Skyhawks.

Then comes SEMO at 4-5, with Tennessee State and Eastern Kentucky both 3-4 and Austin Peay 2-4 prior to Saturday night's games.

Morehead State (1-6) and Tennessee Tech (0-7) brought up the rear entering Saturday's action and don't figure to be legitimate challengers for an upper-division finish.

All indications are that the OVC race -- especially once you get past a couple of teams -- is going to remain wild and scrambled the entire season.

Which means the Indians should be able to stay right in the hunt, especially if a few of those close games start going their way.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian