COLLEGE BASKETBALL: SOUTHEAST FINDS DIV. II MINERS IN A DEEP HOLE

Even if his team was at full strength, University of Missouri-Rolla basketball coach Dale Martin knows how tough a challenge the Miners would face tonight.

But throw in the fact that two of the Miners' top returning players from last season won't be in the lineup and Martin realizes the odds are really stacked against his Division II squad as it faces Southeast Missouri State University in a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center. Both teams are 1-0.

"We are very outmanned at this stage and we will be facing an excellent team," said Martin. "We're not even close to where we need to be to compete with a team like SEMO. It's going to be a real eye-opener for us and we know the kind of challenge we have."

For the Indians, the challenge -- for the second straight game is to make sure they are focused enough to not allow an undermanned Division II foe to get close enough to entertain thoughts of a stunning upset.

The Indians opened the season Friday night with a relatively easy 70-59 win over Division II Truman State -- like UM-Rolla a member of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association -- although the margin of victory was not what coach Gary Garner would have liked, especially after Southeast built a 23-point second-half lead.

"There were a few positive signs, but overall I felt we were not as sharp as we should have been," Garner said. "I was really disappointed in the way we finished the game. The game was never in doubt as far as who was going to win, but we should have pushed it out from 23 to about 30. We didn't do that.

"Hopefully, not playing real well Friday night, we'll respond much better. I think we'll play better, but at the same token, we're not going to have the intensity as when we play a Murray State or somebody like that. You just can't have that kind of intensity every game. It's just not going to happen."

UM-Rolla went just 6-19 last year, including a 1-17 mark in the MIAA. Martin is hopeful of a much-improved season, although the Miners suffered a major blow when senior guard Scott Holly suffered an injury in the preseason and will be out for the year. Holly was UM-Rolla's leading scorer last season with nearly 16 points per game.

"He was the real deal," said Martin of Holly. "Losing him really hurts us."

The Miners will also be without another projected starter tonight, senior guard Eric Harris, who is academically ineligible until the second semester. Harris averaged nearly nine points last year.

"We don't have a lot of depth, but we have some quality players," Martin said.

With Holly out, the Miners' top returning performer is senior point guard Kasim Withers, who averaged nearly 13 points per game last year and scored 17 during an 81-52 season-opening rout of Division III William Penn.

"He's a pretty good point guard," said Martin of Withers.

UM-Rolla also has a Division I-caliber player in the middle in 6-foot-8, 230-pound freshman center Brian Westre, a St. Louis native who scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his collegiate debut against William Penn.

"He's a good player," said Martin of Westre. "He had five Division I visits, but he wanted to be an engineer and stay close to home."

Bob Tebbe, a 6-6 junior forward, contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds during the Miners' season opener.

Martin, in his 14th season with the Miners, brought several of his teams to the Show Me Center during the late 1980s when UM-Rolla competed against the then-Division II Indians in the old Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

"I've been to the Show Me Center and I know all about SEMO basketball and their tradition," Martin said. " It will be a fun, great atmosphere. The fans are real knowledgeable about the game and we have some alumni in that area so hopefully we'll have a few fans there."

Even though Martin knows there is a good chance his team will be soundly defeated tonight, he's still looking forward to the game.

"I really wanted to play the Indians. No. 1, I think Gary is a great coach and we're doing a few of the things he's doing offensively, even though it might not look like it," said Martin. "And I'm more concerned about how we're going to be as a basketball team in January than where we are now."

* Southeast guard Antonio Short will return to action tonight after completing a three-game suspension (which included the two exhibition contests) for violating unspecified team rules.

Garner said he didn't know if Short will start tonight but he will definitely play a lot.

Backup center Terry Rogers, who missed the Truman State game with bronchitis, could see action tonight, although Garner said he might hold Rogers out so he will be completely healthy for the tough eight-team tournament in Kansas City that the Indians will compete in Friday through Sunday...

Reserve guard Matt Morris, who has mononucleosis and missed the season opener, definitely won't play tonight and it is not known when he will return.

* Eric Wessel, the second-leading scorer on last year's Cape Girardeau Central High School team, is a freshman guard at UM-Rolla. Martin said Wessel will probably redshirt this season, but he will make the trip and be with the Miners tonight.

* Ohio Valley Conference teams are off to a flying start, led by preseason favorite Austin Peay. The Governors went 3-0 to win the Top of the World Classic in Alaska over the weekend, beating Big 12 Conference member Colorado (91-86) and 2000 NCAA Tournament participants Jackson State (85-63) and Utah State (80-76 in overtime).

Trenton Hassell, regarded as a possible first-round NBA draft pick, was named tourney MVP as he scored a record 74 points, including 33 against Colorado.

Another OVC squad, Tennessee State, opened its season with a 73-67 win at South Carolina of the Southeastern Conference.

OVC squads went a combined 6-3 on the opening weekend of the season.