INDIANS HOPE TO IMPEACH GOVS; SEMO PLAYS AT AUSTIN PEAY TONIGHT

Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team will tonight get a look at a young man who many Ohio Valley Conference coaches believe just might be the league's most talented player.

The Indians' objective will be to contain that player -- or at least slow him down a bit.

But Southeast coach Gary Garner knows just how difficult that will be when the Indians (2-2) and Austin Peay's Governors (1-3) square off in a 7:45 p.m. contest at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tenn. The game will mark the OVC opener for both teams.

The player Garner has his eyes on is Austin Peay's 6-foot-5 sophomore swingman, Trenton Hassell, who is opening plenty of eyes during the early stages of his first season of collegiate basketball.

Hassell is averaging 22.5 points per game while shooting 57 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range. He also is pulling down six rebounds a contest and has dished out a team-high 11 assists.

A Clarksville native, Hassell was a top-100 recruit coming out of high school and was courted by most of the top Southeastern Conference programs.

However, he did not qualify academically and wound up staying home to attend Austin Peay. He was forced to sit out last season but has burst on the scene in a big way, scoring 29 points against Vanderbilt, 24 against Mississippi and 17 against Missouri.

The Govs lost all three of those games but were highly competitive in two, losing 89-79 at Vandy and 63-53 at Mizzou despite trailing the Tigers by just one point with five minutes left.

"He (Hassell) just might be the best player in the conference," said Garner. "He's really a good player, a 6-5 kid who shoots it probably as deep as our Cory Johnson shoots it, then goes in and posts up.

"He's really going to cause us some matchup problems. Mike Branson will be guarding him and it will really be a big job for Mike. But Mike can't do it alone. He'll need some help."

Hassell is not the only dangerous player for the Govs, who were picked to finish third in the OVC's preseason poll.

Jerome Jackson, a 6-5 senior forward, is averaging 13 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.

Nick Stapleton, a 6-2 sophomore point guard who also sat out last year because of academic ineligibility, is the Govs' third-leading scorer at 9.3 points per game.

James Stewart, a 6-5 sophomore who has been coming off the bench, and 6-7 senior Scott Combs are both contributing a little more than six points per game.

"I really like their point guard (Stapleton), Jackson is a strong inside player and Stewart is a good athlete," said Garner. "Their perimeter game is definitely their strength. We have to be able to cover their perimeter people and be able to do something with Hassell."

Austin Peay coach Dave Loos said Hassell has certainly lived up to his advance billing so far -- but some of the other Govs are not.

"Trenton is playing very well, very consistently," said Loos. "But some other guys are not playing as advertised. They've been a little inconsistent."

In a reversal from last season, the Indians have been getting the bulk of their scoring from the inside this year.

Senior center Bud Eley is leading the way at 14.8 points per game while junior forwards Roderick Johnson and Mike Branson are averaging 12.8 and 11.5 points a contest, respectively.

While Southeast's guards have struggled as a whole, Garner looks for that to pick up. And he welcomes the return of Kahn Cotton, who began practicing this week after missing all four games and virtually all workouts with recurring knee problems. Cotton should see some action tonight.

"We're happy to have Kahn back," Garner said. "He'll definitely help us out."

Loos said the Indians present the Govs with plenty of problems, particularly on the inside.

"I feel like SEMO is a very strong team," he said. "They've got a nice combination of inside strength and perimeter strength. They present a lot of problems for us because we're not very big."

SEMO at Austin Peay

7:45 p.m., Clarksville, Tenn.

Probable Starters

SEMO (2-2, O-0 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Mike Branson F Jr. 6-6 11.5

Roderick Johnson F Jr. 6-6 12.8

Bud Eley C Sr. 6-10 14.8

Cory Johnson G Sr. 6-0 8.8

Jeramy Biles G So. 5-11 3.8

AP (1-3, O-0 OVC)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Jerome Jackson F Sr. 6-5 13.0

Trenton Hassell F So. 6-5 22.5

Scott Combs C Sr. 6-7 6.3

Willie Ivory G Sr. 6-4 2.3

Nick Stapleton G So. 6-2 9.5

Series: SEMO leads 10-7

Last meeting: AP won 76-46 in 1997-98

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