INDIANS PLAN TO TAKE DIVISION II FOE SERIOUSLY

Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball coach Gary Garner knows just how dangerous a game against a lower-division opponent can be."Any time you play a team like that, they're going to probably approach the game like they have nothing to lose and their kids will probably be loose and relaxed," said Garner. "You really have to prepare and make sure you don't take a team like that lightly."Garner is hoping the Indians have their attentions focused fully on the Division II Rockhurst Hawks in tonight's 7:30 tipoff at the Show Me Center.

Rockhurst, while a division below the Indians, went 15-12 last season and returns its entire starting lineup."They'll be a good Division II basketball team and they'll be very well coached," said Garner. "It's a game we should win, but it's also a game we can't look past."While the Indians opened their season Friday night with an impressive 93-69 win over Western Carolina, Rockhurst will be tipping off its campaign tonight.

Rockhurst coach Bill O'Conner said he expects the Hawks to have a solid team this season, although they won't be at full strength for the Indians.

Tim Grasser, a 6-foot-7 senior center who averaged 11.2 points and six rebounds per game last season, has been rehabilitating a knee injury and O'Conner said he won't be ready to go until December.

Davin Winkley, a 6-5 junior forward who led Rockhurst in scoring and rebounding last season at 18.2 points and nine rebounds per game, has a foot injury and O'Conner said he is questionable for tonight."The injuries have set us back some, but I like our team," said O'Conner. "Winkley and Grasser are probably our two best players. We know Grasser won't play and if Winkley can't, it will definitely hurt us. But the other people will just have to step up and play." O'Conner realizes just what kind of challenge the Hawks will be facing as they step up in class."We try to play a Division I team every other year or so and we feel like playing coach Garner's team is an excellent opportunity for us," O'Conner said. "We know they'll be well coached and very good. We'll try to play as hard as we can."It's an opportunity for us to play an excellent team and try to evaluate what we need to work on."Asked to describe his team's style of play, O'Conner said, "We try to get down the floor a little bit, but we're not as transition oriented as a lot of teams. We just try to get as good a shot as possible."The Indians got a lot of good shots Friday night against Western Carolina as they made 60 percent of their field-goal attempts in totally dominating the Catamounts.

Mike Branson led the Indians offensively with 18 points. Four other Southeast players scored in double figures: Michael Stokes (15), Roderick Johnson (13), Nyah Jones (13) and Antonio Short (11).