COLLEGE BASKETBALL: INDIANS' MCCUTHISON MAY PLAY IN OPENER

Although the injury will be reevaluated Wednesday, Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball coach Gary Garner said it doesn't appear as if Emmanuel McCuthison will miss much regular-season playing time, if any.

McCuthison, a 6-foot-4 senior who is the Indians' starter at small forward, suffered a dislocated shoulder during Saturday night's exhibition victory over the Dreambuilders.

According to Garner, the same thing happened several times in practice last year, but a trainer could generally get McCuthison's shoulder back in place. The shoulder was put back in place Saturday at a local hospital.

Speaking at his weekly media conference Monday, Garner said he is hopeful that McCuthison will be able to play Friday night when the Indians open the regular season at home against Truman State.

"The shoulder is very sore and it's going to be reevaluated Wednesday. Emmanuel won't practice for a couple of days," said Garner. "He might miss Friday's game, but I think he'll be okay to play."

If McCuthison is unable to go Friday, either senior Matt Morris or sophomore Tim Scheer will likely get the starting nod.

* While several players performed well during the Indians' two exhibition victories, senior guard Amory Sanders and senior center Nyah Jones were definitely the top standouts.

Sanders, expected to back up Antonio Short at shooting guard this season, started in place of Short during the two exhibition contests as Short continues to serve a three-game suspension for violating unspecified team rules. Sanders will also start Friday night, which will mark the final game of Short's suspension.

But Garner said it might be hard to get Sanders out of the lineup even after Short returns. Sanders averaged 20 points in the two exhibitions, shooting 68 percent from the field and 58 percent from 3-point range.

"We went into the season saying Antonio would start at the two guard, but Amory is playing so well, it might be hard to get him out of there. His stock has definitely risen," Garner said. "We'll look at playing three guards, and we'd already talked about playing Tone some at the three spot (small forward)."

Jones averaged 17 points in the exhibition games, shooting a sizzling 74 percent as he made 17 of his 23 field-goal attempts.

"Nyah is really looking good and we're getting the ball to him," said Garner.

Garner also had special praise for the play of sophomore power forward Drew DeMond during the exhibition schedule. DeMond had 13 rebounds against the Dreambuilders.

"We're looking for Drew to rebound and defend and he's really taking it to heart," said Garner.

* Truman State, Southeast's season-opening opponent, made the NCAA Division II Final Four two years ago and went 16-11 last season. The Bulldogs return two starters from last year.

On the Truman State squad is former Cape Girardeau Central High School product Nathan Owen, who played at Southeast during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.

Owen, a junior guard, redshirted at Truman State last year and he has two seasons of eligibility remaining. However, he is still recovering from a broken hand and only recently returned to practice. Bulldogs coach Jack Schrader said he is not certain if Owen will play Friday.

"Nathan has not practiced full speed yet and I'm leery," Schrader said. "It's a day-to-day situation. Obviously it would be a big game for him, being his hometown.

"Once Nathan gets healthy, we'll be counting on him. He redshirted last year and he killed us in practice all the time. He can definitely play."