UPSET LOSS AT MARTIN DID NOT SET INDIANS BACK ANY

People wondered how Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team would bounce back from Thursday's upset loss at Tennessee-Martin.

The answer: just fine.

That was evident Saturday night as the Indians started strong, lagged some in the second half and then stormed back to stun host Murray State 84-78 in what has to be one of the bigger wins for Southeast on the Division I level.

Not only did the Indians break a frustrating 15-game losing streak against the Racers, who have turned into by far their biggest Ohio Valley Conference rival, they also ended MSU's 47-game home winning streak that was the nation's longest.

And they did it with their head coach in the locker room for the game's final 12:45. Southeast faced a 12-point deficit at the time.

"I'll get ejected every time if that's what it takes," said Gary Garner, who was ejected with 12:45 remaining after receiving his second technical foul.

Garner had been among those wondering how the Indians would react following their loss at Tennessee-Martin. Garner is fond of sayings that he can use with his team and one of his favorites goes something like this: it's not what happens to you, it's how you react to it.

The Indians probably reacted Saturday night even better than Garner could have hoped as they took the fight to the Racers right off the bat, building several 10-point first-half leads before settling for a 35-33 halftime advantage.

Then, after falling behind 55-43 with 12:45 left in the second half after Garner's second technical and ejection, the Indians stormed back with a 20-2 run that gave them a 63-57 lead.

After the Indians had stretched their advantage to nine points in the late going, they were able to hold off the explosive Racers down the stretch.

"I'm so proud of everybody," Garner said.

Southeast (12-3 overall, 5-1 OVC) had a host of heroes in the victory that vaulted them into first place in the league, one game ahead of MSU (10-5, 3-1).

Mike Branson scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half while Roderick Johnson had 11 of his 17 points in the second half and Michael Stokes had 10 of his 15 points after halftime. Stokes also dished out six assists.

Antonio Short, who has really solidified the Indians' lineup after returning from a broken wrist, scored 17 points. He and reserve Nyah Jones each had eight first-half points to help get the Indians off to a strong start.

Brian Bunche was once again strong on the boards with eight rebounds, and he chipped in six points. Reserve Fred Abraham scored just two points, but he hit a big basket late in the first half.

"Everybody contributed," said Southeast assistant coach Tom Schuberth, who ran the team in Garner's absence, receiving plenty of help from his assistants.

The Indians ran their offense extremely well virtually the entire game, shooting 54 percent in the first half and 56 percent in the second half.

"I thought we had a very good game plan," Garner said.

While Garner couldn't see what was going on during the Indians' stirring second-half comeback since he was relegated to the locker room, he was able to listen to the game.

"I really want to thank (MSU athletic director) E.W. Dennison for bringing me a radio. That showed a lot of class on his part," said Garner.

Now the Indians will try to come back down to earth and get ready to host Tennessee Tech Tuesday night.