Injuries deplete Indians' depth for UTM game

P Southeast will likely have only six scholarship players available tonight.

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

Southeast Missouri State University's Indians didn't have much depth to begin with.

But that depth will be stretched even more tonight because of a rash of injuries that have further depleted the roster.

Coach Gary Garner will almost certainly have only six scholarship players available when the Indians host Tennessee-Martin.

"We're really going to be thin," Garner said.

Senior guard Demetrius King, who has started several games and always plays plenty off the bench, will not even dress because of knee and ankle injuries suffered against Morehead State Saturday night. King is Southeast's sixth-leading scorer (7.5 ppg).

Starting junior forward Damarcus Hence will probably see only limited action as he continues to recover from oral surgery earlier this week. Hence, the Indians' second-leading scorer (12.1 ppg), had a tooth knocked out against Eastern Kentucky last Thursday after having another tooth knocked out in practice last week.

Sophomore center Adam Crader, who has been seeing increased minutes off the bench in recent games, almost certainly won't play and probably won't even dress after suffering a displaced jaw during Tuesday's practice.

Freshman walk-on guard John Boggio, who normally doesn't play much but could have provided depth because of the other injuries, is questionable with a pulled muscle in his side.

In addition, junior center Brandon Griffin, who leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 10th nationally in rebounding at 10.6 per game, missed some practice time earlier in the week with a bad back but he returned Tuesday and will start tonight.

"It's kind of hit us all at once," Garner said.

Sophomore walk-on guard Kevin Roberts, who normally comes off the bench and leads the OVC in assist-to-turnover ratio, will start in place of Hence tonight to give the Indians' a three-guard lineup, along with sophomores Derek Winans and Brett Hale. Tim Scheer will take his usual spot at a forward.

The Indians have basically used a seven-player rotation this season -- those seven average more than 21 minutes per game -- with Crader and freshman forward Cole Grapperhaus averaging less than nine minutes per contest.

Grapperhaus could be pressed into more action tonight, but the big key, said Garner, is to avoid foul trouble.

"We've talked to our players about really being careful not to get those touch fouls," Garner said. "They need to be really smart with their hands."

While Garner knows the Indians will be backed into a corner against a Tennessee-Martin squad that has been one of the OVC's early surprises, he said, "I think our guys will rise to the occasion. We've got a good group."

King and Crader are both probably questionable to play Saturday night when the Indians host Murray State. More will be known about King's knee injury after an MRI that was done Wednesday, although results won't be available until today.