TRIBE ROLLS AFTER RESERVES FIX FLAT; SE POSTS 60-49 WIN OVER UTM

MARTIN, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Gary Garner sensed trouble in the early moments against host Tennessee-Martin Saturday afternoon.

"We were flat," he said. "You look for little things and I could tell we weren't crisp; we weren't running the floor."

So Garner sent his four primary reserves -- Demetrius Watson, Brian Bunche, Nathan Owen and Fred Abraham -- on to the court to join starting center Bud Eley less than two minutes into the contest.

Those four players stayed on the floor together for more than five minutes and, although they did not dominate, they sure energized the Indians, who went on to post a 60-49 triumph.

"Think about the mental makeup of those four," said Garner. "They're all tough guys. They definitely energized us and got us going."

By prevailing in front of 2,731 fans at Skyhawk Arena, the Indians snapped a two-game losing streak as they improved to 16-8 overall and 13-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Southeast also tied its previous season high for victories since moving up to Division I eight years ago. The Indians went 16-11 during the 1992-93 campaign.

The Skyhawks, playing their final home game under veteran coach Cal Luther, who recently announced his retirement effective at the end of the season, fell to 8-16 overall and 5-11 in the OVC.

"This is a good win for us," Garner said. "Even before the Murray State game (a 62-52 loss Thursday night), I said this would be a really hard game for us.

"I thought this would be a really close game, so to win by this kind of margin on the road is nice."

Roderick Johnson continued his recent string of strong performances by scoring a game-high 17 points -- all coming in the second half. Johnson hit six of eight field-goal attempts in the final 20 minutes after taking just one shot in the opening half.

"I didn't really do anything different (in the second half), I just continued to play my game," said Johnson. "Coach wasn't too happy early in the game. I could tell we didn't come out ready. We were flat.

"Once our second team came in the game, we really picked it up. We've got a lot of depth and those guys come in and really do a good job."

Eley recorded his 15th double-double of the season by scoring 14 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He helped Southeast dominate the boards 36 to 23.

Mike Branson, breaking out of a recent shooting slump, hit two of four 3-pointers and added 10 points.

"It was nice to see Mike kind of get back on track," said Garner.

And three of the Indians' four key reserves combined for 14 points. Bunche hit all three of his shots and scored six points. He also had two assists and blocked a shot.

Abraham had four points and a team-high three assists while Watson had four points and three rebounds.

"All four guys we brought off the bench played well," Garner said. "I thought Brian really did a good job."

UTM got 11 points from both Andrea Betts and Sean Griffin. Joe Crumby added 10 points.

Southeast trailed 4-0 early when Garner went to his bench at the 18:16 mark.

By the time another starter came back into the contest, at the 13:06 mark, the Indians had gone on top 10-7, thanks in large part to four points from Watson and two from Bunche.

"Coach said we hadn't come to play, that the intensity wasn't there," said Watson. "We just wanted to pick up the tempo and keep us in the game."

Watson, Bunche, Owen and Abraham wound up playing a combined 38 first-half minutes, contributing eight points.

"It was nice to go in that early in the game," said Watson with a laugh. "That usually doesn't happen."

Although the Skyhawks ended up taking two more first-half leads, the Indians were able to gain control over the final portion of the opening 20 minutes.

Branson's 3-pointer with 7:25 left before halftime put the Indians ahead 15-14 and they would not trail again.

Eley followed with a basket and free throw and Cory Johnson nailed a 3-pointer to give Southeast a 21-14 lead.

Southeast opened up its biggest lead of the first half when Eley scored inside to make it 28-17 at the 3:08 mark. The Indians were ahead 30-22 at the break.

Eley picked up his second and third fouls in the opening 2:30 of the second half and went to the bench. When UTM pulled to within 33-28, the Indians appeared to be in some danger.

But R. Johnson scored 10 of Southeast's next 12 points as the Indians used a 12-2 run to open up a 45-30 lead.

The Indians later went ahead 53-36 to mark their biggest advantage of the game.

UTM used a quick 9-0 run to pull within 53-45. But R. Johnson's follow shot with five minutes left ended the surge and put Southeast back ahead 55-45.

Southeast was never threatened again, going up 60-46 before Garner was able to clear his bench in the final minute.

"It's good to get back on the winning track," said R. Johnson. "We're not used to losing."

The Indians will return to action Tuesday night, playing at Eastern Kentucky in the Indians' final road game of the regular season.