INDIANS TRY TO SNAP 2-GAME SKID TONIGHT; TRUMAN ST. VISITS THE SHOW ME CENTER

It's finals week at Southeast Missouri State University and the basketball Indians hope to pass their last pre-Christmas test on the court tonight.

The Indians (4-4) and Division II Truman State (4-3) from Kirksville will square off in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center.

"It's a big game for us because we've lost two in a row and we really need to go into the break with a win," said Southeast coach Gary Garner, whose squad suffered a tough 65-64 loss at Missouri on Saturday. "Coming off the Missouri game and being finals week, that all enters into the things you worry about for this game.

"I'm worried about a letdown. That's something we've had to address this week."

On paper, the Indians would appear to be heavy favorites over Truman State (formerly Northeast Missouri State). But Garner, who coached Division II power Fort Hays State before coming to Southeast this year, knows all too well how dangerous lower-division teams can be.

"There are some great Division II teams out there," Garner said. "The top (Division II) teams are very good, as good as a lot of Division I teams."

Nobody is saying that Truman State is one of the nation's best Division II squads. But the Bulldogs did give second-ranked Southern Indiana a battle before falling 92-85 on Saturday and that result caught Garner's attention.

"They played Southern Indiana tough and Southern Indiana is one of the best (Division II) teams in the nation," he said. "If they can play Southern Indiana to within seven points on the road, then that shows they're capable of playing a very good basketball game.

"This is not just a game we can show up and win. We've got to come out ready to play, which I think we will. Truman State is good enough where, on a given night, they can beat us if we don't play well."

Truman State coach Jack Schrader believes he does have a solid basketball team, but he realizes the Bulldogs will be making a major jump in class tonight.

"It's a good opportunity for us. It helps us prepare for conference and it (the Show Me Center) is a great place to play. I'm sure our kids will be looking forward to it," he said. "Obviously we're the underdogs. We'll just try and play to the best of our ability and see if we can hang around a little bit."

The Bulldogs feature a fairly balanced attack, with six players averaging at least nine points per game, but Truman State's biggest star is 6-foot-5 sophomore Cory Parker, who averages 18.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game to lead the team in both categories.

"He's a very good player," said Schrader. "He sat out most of last year with an injury so we're really glad to have him back. He's an outstanding athlete."

Said Garner of Parker: "He's a really good looking athlete and he's a really strong player. He's a complete basketball player. We're going to have to do a good job on him."

Truman State's only other player averaging in double figures is 6-3 sophomore Jason Ramthun (12 ppg).

The Bulldogs' other three starters -- 6-6 sophomore Jason Reinberg, 6-2 senior Jimmy O'Donnell and 6-foot sophomore Andy Guethle -- all average around nine points a contest: Also contributing nine points per game is 6-6 freshman Brian Brown.

"We're a fairly young team (only one senior among the top six players) and we don't have a whole lot of size," Schrader said. "But we've played fairly well. We've won our games at home and we've lost our games on the road at some tough places, but we had chances to win those games."

Southeast will be playing its second game without leading scorer Bud Eley, a 6-10 center who broke his foot against Southern Illinois last week.

For the second straight game, David Montgomery will move over to center in place of Eley while Demetrius Watson will take Montgomery's place at forward.

"We'd sure rather be playing with Bud, but our guys really picked up the slack at Missouri and I think they'll continue to do that," Garner said.

Truman State at SEMO

7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

Probable Starters

SEMO (4-4)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Calvert White F Sr. 6-4 10.4

Demetrius Watson F Jr. 6-4 5.9

David Montgomery C Jr. 6-8 10.3

Cory Johnson G Jr. 6-0 13.5

Kahn Cotton G Jr. 5-10 11.4

Truman St. (4-3)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Jason Ramthun F So. 6-3 11.0

Jason Reinberg F So. 6-6 9.3

Cory Parker C So. 6-5 18.6

Jimmy O'Donnell G Sr. 6-2 9.6

Andy Guethle G So. 6-0 9.6

Series: SEMO leads 80-62

Radio: K103-FM