Indians look to topple Oaks

Southeast tries not to overlook winless Division II visitor, Oakland City.

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball coach Gary Garner doesn't know anything about Oakland City --except that the Indians should beat the Mighty Oaks.

Garner also knows that he has to make sure his players don't think they can simply show up and romp in tonight's 7 p.m. game at the Show Me Center.

"Your biggest concern is to not look ahead," Garner said. "This game is so mental, and you really can't look past anybody these days."

If the Indians (2-3) do have the proper mental attitude for the Division II Mighty Oaks (0-3), then Garner acknowledges they should be able to win handily and enter Saturday night's highly anticipated home game against Southern Illinois with a full head of steam.

"We should win the game, but the thing that concerns you is we've got SIU Saturday and you know our players are thinking about that game. I've got to prevent that," Garner said. "I've said it so many times, but any time you play a Division II team it scares you, because they'll come in with nothing to lose."

Still, the Mighty Oaks from Oakland City, Ind., don't appear to be the kind of Division II program that has the ingredients to pull off what would be a stunning upset.

Oakland City, which was 10-16 last year, lost to Austin Peay 104-72 in an exhibition game prior to this season. Austin Peay, like Southeast, is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Mighty Oaks are led by Clint Weddle, a 6-foot-3 junior guard who entered Tuesday's contest at Hannibal-LaGrange averaging 18 points in his first two games.

Garner, whose squad is coming off a 1-2 showing in the University Hoops Classic in New Orleans, hopes the Indians can improve significantly this week heading into Saturday's game with the Salukis, who made the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last year.

"This is a big week for us, an interesting week," Garner said. "We really have to have a good week of practice."

Golson ready to play

Although he might be a bit rusty at first, Reggie Golson finally appears ready to make his long-anticipated Southeast debut.

Golson, a 6-foot-7 junior forward who transferred from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, had arthroscopic knee surgery in September. His recovery has been slower than anticipated and he hit a few minor roadblocks, but Garner plans on getting Golson into his first Southeast game tonight.

"We're definitely planning on playing him," Garner said. "We had planned on playing him in the first game at New Orleans, but he tweaked the knee. We almost played him Sunday, but we felt like the couple of extra days would be good."

Garner, who said he hopes to play Golson about 10 minutes tonight, is excited about having the athletic player on the court, but he cautioned fans not to expect too much too soon.

"He's a very good basketball player, but it's not just going to happen in a couple of weeks after he's been out this whole time," Garner said. "He's a very complete player. He's a good shooter, he can put the ball on the floor, he can drive all the way to the basket, he's a good passer, he can help us on the defensive end. I'm really anxious to have him back."Griffin gets OVC honor

Brandon Griffin, a 6-8 junior center, won the OVC's Newcomer of the Week award, the league announced Monday.

Griffin averaged 13.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games last week. He scored 36 points and grabbed 33 rebounds in the University Hoops Classic as he made the all-tournament team after leading the event in rebounding.

For the season, the transfer from Southwest Mississippi Community College is averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds as he has helped shore up Southeast's woeful rebounding from last season. Griffin is also shooting 59.2 percent from the field.

"Brandon really continues to play well," Garner said. "I'm paranoid about rebounding, so his play is really encouraging."