THE LATEST LINE: SEMO HOOPS CELEBRATES 1,000TH WIN

Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball program has had quite a bit of success over the years, as evidenced by the school recently winning its 1,000th game.

And that milestone victory -- which came against Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 31 -- was recognized Thursday night prior to the game against Tennessee-Martin.

Ceremonies commemorating the milestone win featured the introduction of several former players, dating as far back to the 1930s.

Introduced to the crowd at the Show Me Center Thursday were (along with the years they played):

Carl Meyer (1935-40), Ben Bidewell (1940-43), Bill Engleman (1950-52), Rich Eichhorst (1952-56), Carl Ritter (1958-63), Vivan Reed (1959-62), Fred Johnson (1971-72), Paul Hale (1971-73), Lennies McFerren (1973-74), Mark Bentlage (1975-78), Arvin Haynes (1977-79), Nate Crowden (1978-80), Terry Mead (1981-83) and Mike Lewis (1987-91).

Some of those players are among the best in SEMO basketball history, including Ritter, who remains the most prolific scorer in school history with 1,916 points.

Ritter and Reed led SEMO to a second-place finish in the 1960-61 NCAA Small College Tournament. Bidewell played on the Indians' 1943 team that won the NAIA national championship.

The high-flying Mead, radio color analyst for SEMO home games, is also regarded as one of the finest players in school history.

All in all, it was great to see some of the Indians from the past recognized as being part of the school's 1,000-plus victories.

That night's romp past UT-Martin gave SEMO a 1,002-791 basketball record since 1906.

* The crowd for Saturday night's highly-anticipated matchup with Murray State was sure to boost the total even more, but attendance for SEMO basketball is up about 400 from last year.

Prior to Saturday's game, the Indians were averaging 4,785 fans per contest as compared to 4,384 last season.

And the fans have been rewarded with a highly competitive and exciting brand of play.

* Not only has SEMO attendance picked up this year, but -- particularly in recent weeks -- so has the spirit of the crowds, especially among the students.

At the front and center of the student crowd resurgence have been the `Redmen,' an enthusiastic group of young men from the Theta Xi fraternity.

As many as 20 to 30 Theta Xi members -- many times painting themselves red -- have been an impressive recent staple at home games.

* Congratulations to former Cape Girardeau resident Dave Schwepker, who was recently named Murray State's head volleyball coach.

Schwepker, an ex-SEMO assistant, has spent the past several seasons as Tennessee State's head coach. Taking over the Murray program is a big-time move upward in Schwepker's coaching career.

* Maybe it's just me, but do other people find it really hard to get into the Winter Olympics?

As a guy who grew up with the `mainstream' sports like football, basketball, baseball, etc., I just can't seem to get interested in 90 percent of the stuff that is going on in Japan.

But, like I said, maybe it's just me.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian