INDIANS LOOK TO KNOCK OFF CENTRAL; SOUTHEAST HOSTS 2ND-RANKED MULES SATURDAY AT SHOW ME CENTER

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Southeast Missouri State and Central Missouri traveled in opposite directions in their Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Conference openers Wednesday.

The Indians, 9-3, 0-1, fell behind Missouri-St. Louis early, made a serious second-half run and then folded with seven minutes remaining en route to an 85-67 setback. Southeast committed an eye-popping 31 turnovers against UMSL.

Central Missouri, 11-0, 1-0, opened the MIAA season in impressive fashion via a 95-55 rout over Lincoln.

The Mules gave every indication they are deserving of the No. 1 nod bestowed on them in the preseason coaches poll.

MIAA Player of the Week, Armando Becker, led the Mules with 19 points. LaKeith Humphrey added 16, Sonny Randle 14 and Cape native Scott Lively chipped in with 12 points.

Mindful of the ambitious task ahead, Indian coach Ron Shumate indicated his players will have to make a quick recovery if they hope to have a chance against the No. 2-ranked Mules Saturday.

Tipoff at the Show Me Center is slated for 7:30 p.m.

"We've relied on defense so much in the past, but we're just not playing well defensively right now," said Shumate. "Our players have to realize that we're not going to average 100 points a night in the conference. We're used to giving up 89 points a night and that's not going to cut it in this league. You've got to get it down in the 60s or 70s."

Following Wednesday's lopsided loss, the Indians allow an average of 85.9 points a game, making them the most generous team in the league right now.

Interestingly enough, Central Missouri leads the MIAA in defense allowing just 63.5 points a contest.

Defense is certainly on the mind of CMSU coach Jim Wooldridge heading into Saturday's contest. "I look at their depth and quickness and wonder if we can hold a team like Southeast down to our average," said Wooldridge. "It's not going to be easy with (Danny) Dohogne and (Thomas) Thames having the kind of year they're having."

Dohogne was held to his lowest point total of the season, an 11-point outing against the Rivermen. The Indian senior entered the game averaging 18.8 points a contest. Thames scored 12 points against the Rivermen.

Southeast failed to accomplish its pre-game assignment against the Rivermen Wednesday, allowing UMSL point guard Chris Pilz to control the tempo and ultimately the outcome via a 22-point performance.

"Maybe it will snow so much that Central won't even get out of Warrensburg," mused Shumate. "Or maybe their bus will break down and we won't have to play them," joked the Indian coach, sprinkling wry humor on an otherwise trying situation.

Added Shumate with a more serious tone,"We're not going to give up or anything. The great thing about this game of basketball is that an underdog can upset a team on any given night. No question we'll be big underdogs going into this game against Central Missouri State. They're good enough to win a a national title."

Shumate believes a packed house will go a long way toward helping the Indians reverse their downward trend. "I just hope we can sell the Show Me Center out Saturday night," said Shumate. "I appreciate the way our fans came up here (St. Louis) to support us against UMSL."

Indeed, judging from the sea of red inside the Mark Twain Center, the majority of the 4,400 attending the UMSL game were from Southeast Missouri.

If the Indians are to pull off an upset victory over the Mules, they will have to turn in a much better backcourt performance.

The Indian guards who played against UMSL scored a combined 27 points while giving up 44. UMSL's guard tandem ofPilz and Leon Kynard scored a combined 33 points. Rivermen guard Barry Graskewicz chipped in with 11 points.

Southeast has had difficulty coming up with a backcourt that is able to maintain stability for more than a few games.

"It's no secret our Achilles heel this year is our backcourt," said Shumate. "I thought Curtis Shelton did some positive things on defense, but we're going to pick up our game quite a bit to have any chance at winning this next one."

Becker, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound senior forward, leads the CMSU Mules in scoring with a 23-point per game average.

Lively, a 6-8, 220-pound senior center, is averaging 7.5 points a game and 4.6 rebounds.

Lively has worked his way into the starting lineup after playing behind Doug Flowers all of last season. "Scott's playing with a lot more confidence this year," said Wooldridge. "I think last year Scott pretty much saw Doug as the starter and he knew his role would be coming off the bench. This year he looks like a stronger player."

Lively's season high was 15 points in a victory over California-Riverside.

Humphrey, a 6-2, 190-pound senior guard, who last play for Kansas State, is averaging 16.8 points a game.

Javier Ayala, a 6-3, 190-pound junior point guard, is averaging five points a game.

"We're playing well right now, but I think we can get better," said Wooldridge. Shumate is hoping the Indians get a lot better to have a shot at defending the league title they won last season.