INDIANS, GOVS BATTLE ON ESPAN

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Trenton Hassell is unquestionably the Ohio Valley Conference's most talented basketball player. And the All-American candidate and hot NBA prospect is without a doubt Austin Peay's leader.

But Southeast Missouri State University coach Gary Garner points out that the Governors are far from a one-man show, which is the main reason they have been tabbed as the favorite to capture the OVC championship.

Today, in a game that will be televised nationally by ESPN, the defending OVC champion Indians will try to derail Hassell and the Govs as the squads hook up in an early conference showdown.

Austin Peay, coming off a 90-89 overtime win over Eastern Illinois Thursday night, is 10-3 overall and 1-0 in league play. Southeast, which romped 88-57 at Tennessee State Thursday night, is 9-4 overall and 1-1 in the OVC.

"Trenton Hassell is a tremendous player. I don't think there's any question he's the best player in our league and the NBA people are apparently really high on him," said Garner. "But Austin Peay is not just Trenton Hassell. They have a lot of other really good players around him.

"They're just a very talented basketball team. They should definitely be favored to win the league. They're the one team that has the potential to run away and hide (from the rest of the OVC). It's going to be a big challenge for us, but we're looking forward to it. It should be a great college basketball game, with a great atmosphere."

Hassell, a 6-foot-5 junior, plays literally all over the floor. He handles the ball like a point guard, shoots 40 percent from 3-point range and also posts up inside or slashes to the basket for many of his points. Hassell is averaging 21 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

"He's just a complete player," Garner said. "He can do just about everything. I don't think you can stop a player like that. You just hope he doesn't go absolutely crazy on you."

While Hassell is the OVC's fourth-leading scorer (he also ranks fourth in rebounding and six in assists), teammate Nick Stapleton is fifth in the league in scoring. The 6-1 senior guard averages 19.2 points per game and shoots 37 percent from 3-point range.

Throw in 6-8 senior center Joe Williams -- who averages 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from the field -- and the Govs have three of the OVC's best at their positions.

"Stapleton is a tremendous player, a great scorer, and Joe Williams is the best center in the league," said Garner. "They can beat you in a lot of different ways, not just with Hassell. When you have three players that good, you're going to be hard to beat."

The Govs also receive solid contributions from their other two starters, 6-7 senior forward Theanthony Haymon (8.4 ppg) and 6-3 sophomore guard Matt Jakeway (8.2 ppg). Haymon is shooting an impressive 67 percent from the floor while Jakeway is hitting 49 percent of his 3-point attempts.

"Haymon is a solid player and Jakeway is really shooting the ball well," said Garner.

Two team statistics jump off the page when sizing up the Govs. They are shooting 49 percent from the field to lead the OVC but they are allowing opponents to shoot nearly 51 percent from the floor to rank last in the conference.

"Normally, when you're allowing your opponents to shoot 51 percent, you're not going to win that many basketball games," said Garner. "That's a very unusual statistic, to have that good a team while allowing that kind of field-goal percentage."

With the Indians coming off perhaps their best offensive performance of the season during Thursday's romp at Tennessee State -- the 31-point margin of victory was Southeast's biggest ever over an OVC foe -- Garner is hoping his squad can take advantage of Austin Peay's defensive deficiencies.

"We're still trying to find ourselves offensively, but I thought we really executed well against Tennessee State," Garner said. "We just have to keep getting better in that area."

The Indians lead the OVC in scoring defense (66 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (40 percent) and 3-point defense (32 percent), setting up an intriguing offense vs. defense matchup.

"The teams definitely have different styles," said Garner.

While the Indians are not exactly an offensive powerhouse, they are first in the conference in 3-point shooting at 41 percent, thanks largely to senior guard Amory Sanders, who does his damage off the bench.

Sanders is shooting 59 percent on 29 of 49. After missing the previous three games because of a deep stone bruise on his right foot, Sanders came back against Tennessee State and hit all five of his 3-point attempts.

"Having Amory in there makes us a lot better basketball team," said Garner.

Sanders is not the only banged-up Indian. Sophomore forward Drew DeMond was limited to eight minutes Thursday because of a deep blister on the ball of his foot. He will try to play today, but how long he will be able to go is not certain.

Injuries or not, however, Garner expects a spirited effort by the Indians as they try to slow down the Govs.

"I know we're going to be ready to play," Garner said. "It's going to be a tough game for us, but we can win it if we play well."