Indians look for more than payday at DePaul

Southeast Missouri State University's first "money" game of the season nearly produced an upset as the Indians led host Arkansas by 10 points at halftime on Dec. 9 before falling short.

The Indians (6-3) hope to finish off the job today when they take on DePaul (5-4) in a 3 p.m. New Year's Eve tipoff at Allstate Arena in Chicago.

"We know DePaul has a great team, but we feel like if we go there and play a good game, we can beat them," said junior guard Derek Winans, the Indians' second leading scorer at 12.1 points per game who is shooting a sizzling 49 percent from 3-point range.

Added senior center Brandon Griffin, "We look forward to playing a team like DePaul. It's going to be a big challenge for us, but if we play good, we can win."

Today's game will be the Indians' second and final 'money' contest. DePaul, like Arkansas, is paying Southeast $45,000 for what the Demons hope will be a routine victory. From the Indians' standpoint, even if they lose, they are helping out the school's financially strapped athletic department.

"It's the kind of game we need to play to do our part in these tough economic times," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "And schools like DePaul and Arkansas wouldn't pay that kind of money if they didn't expect to win pretty easily.

"But even though you're always a big underdog in these kind of games, on a given day anything can happen. That's one of the great things about college basketball."

Southeast played an almost flawless first half against Arkansas before faltering in the second half, although the Indians trailed by just four points with a little more than one minute remaining.

"We had a chance to win the game," Garner said. "That's about all you can ask in that kind of situation."

In order to beat the Blue Demons, who went 16-13 last year and made the NIT, Garner knows it will take two exceptional halves, not just one.

"We need to play very well for 40 minutes to beat a team like DePaul," Garner said. "They're very athletic and talented. They're really big and strong at all five positions; that's the main thing that concerns me."

DePaul's biggest and strongest player, however, won't be in action today. Andre Brown, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound center who was averaging 13.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, is out with a knee injury. Brown, the nation's fourth-leading rebounder, missed Saturday's 76-62 loss at Seton Hall and could be out for several weeks.

Even without Brown, DePaul outrebounded Seton Hall. For the season, the Blue Demons have an advantage on the boards of more than seven per game.

"They've hurt teams really bad on the boards and we can't have that happen to us," Garner said. "Rebounding will be a big key."

Delonte Holland, a 6-7, 220-pound senior forward, is DePaul's leading scorer at 19.8 points per game, followed by 6-7, 220-pound junior forward Quemont Greer (11.9) and 6-5 junior guard Drake Diener (10.0). Holland is shooting better than 53 percent from the field.

Southeast is led by junior forward Dainmon Gonner at 13.9 points per game, followed by Winans and senior center Brandon Griffin, who is averaging 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists to lead the Indians in the latter two categories. Senior forward Damarcus Hence is averaging 12 points, but he has played in just two games.

"I think we've played pretty well to this point and we're getting better all the time," Garner said. "We know DePaul is going to be a really big challenge for us, but we just want to play as well as we can and see what happens."

Following today's game, Southeast will travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., in preparation for Saturday's contest against Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne that will mark the end of the Indians' non-conference schedule. They open Ohio Valley Conference play on Jan. 8 at home against defending champion Austin Peay.