UPGRADE OR GET PLUNDERED: INDIANS LOOK TO IMPROVE PLAY AGAINST HOT RAIDERS

Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians are hoping to play a much better game tonight than they did Thursday night.

Basically, the Indians realize they have no choice but to play much better if they have any hopes of defeating Middle Tennessee State in the 7:30 contest at the Show Me Center.

"It's going to take a really good performance, maybe our best game of the year," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "We'll definitely have to play very well."

The Indians (7-6 overall, 3-2 Ohio Valley Conference) are coming off a 69-51 victory over Tennessee Tech in a game that was only impressive because it resulted in a victory.

Southeast struggled much of the contest before finally putting away the slumping Eagles in the closing minutes.

"A win is a win, especially in conference play," said Garner. "But we did play very poorly. You have to have that emotion and intensity and we just didn't have it. We definitely have to get it back for Middle Tennessee."

The Raiders (9-3 overall, 3-1 OVC) are coming off their first conference loss of the season, an 85-74 setback at Eastern Illinois Thursday night.

Prior to that, MTSU had been on a roll, winning five straight games, including an impressive 76-71 overtime victory over heavy league favorite Murray State.

"They're just a really solid basketball team with all the ingredients," Garner said. "They've got good size, good rebounders, they shoot the ball well.

"Watching tape of them, they don't have any one guy they rely on but they've got a lot of solid players. They play very good defense and they don't beat themselves. You've got to beat them."

Freddie Martinez, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, leads the Raiders offensively with 12.6 points per contest. He's shooting well over 40 percent from 3-point range.

The only other MTSU player averaging in double figures is 6-8 senior forward Aylton Tesch (11.2 ppg), who also leads the squad in rebounding with 7.9 boards a contest.

Tesch was one of the OVC's top newcomers two years ago but he sat out last season with an injury.

Rounding out the Raiders' starting lineup are 6-6 senior forward K.J. Harden (5.4 ppg), 6-8 senior center Mantia Callender (6.6 ppg) and 6-1 junior point guard Richard Duncan (8.7 ppg), who leads the squad with more than 40 assists.

The Raiders also get strong support off the bench from several players, including 6-5 senior forward Malachi Allen (7.9 ppg) and 6-1 junior guard Kent Ayer (5.7 ppg). Ayer was one of the heroes of MTSU's comeback win over Murray State.

MTSU lost three double-figure scorers from last year's squad that went 19-12 overall and finished third in the OVC with an 11-7 record.

But the Raiders have been able to rebuild nicely under second-year coach Randy Weil, a former North Carolina player and assistant coach. MTSU has been led by its defense as the Raiders are allowing opponents to score an average of just over 60 points per game, best in the OVC.

"There's no question Middle Tennessee is one of the top two or three teams in the league," said Garner.

Tempering Thursday's Southeast win -- in addition to the sluggish performance -- was the bruised thigh point guard Kahn Cotton suffered. Cotton played only 14 minutes.

Garner said that Cotton was doing much better Friday and should be fine for tonight, which is good news for Southeast fans because the Indians will need all of their weapons against the Raiders.

A win tonight before the Indians go back on the road for three straight games would certainly be a major boost to Southeast's hopes of contending for the OVC title.

As is usually the case through the early part of a conference season, the OVC race is extremely scrambled right now.

Eastern Illinois is in first place at 4-1, with MTSU, Murray and Tennessee-Martin all tied at 3-1 and Southeast right behind them at 3-2.

"It's just way too early in the season to say any game is a must win," Garner said. "But there's no doubt a win (tonight) would be huge for us."

INDIAN NOTES: Allen Hatchett, a former Sikeston High all-stater who played for Southeast the past two seasons before transferring to MTSU, is sitting out this year under NCAA transfer rules.

Hatchett, who was Southeast's third-leading scorer last year (10.2 ppg), will have two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Raiders beginning next year.

Middle Tennessee at SEMO

7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

Probable Starters

SEMO (7-6, 3-2 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Calvert White F Sr. 6-4 9.3

Demetrius Watson F Jr. 6-4 8.5

David Mongomery C Jr. 6-8 10.2

Cory Johnson G Jr. 6-0 13.5

Kahn Cotton G Jr. 5-10 12.3

MTSU (9-3, 3-1 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

K.J. Harden F Sr. 6-6 5.4

Aylton Tesch F Sr. 6-8 11.2

Mantia Callender C Sr. 6-8 6.6

Richard Duncan G Jr. 6-1 8.7

Freddie Martinez G So. 6-5 12.6

Series: SEMO leads 7-6

Radio: K103-FM