Roberts' foot injury likely only a sprain

Southeast Missouri State University finally has received good news regarding an injury.

Sophomore point guard Kevin Roberts originally was feared to have suffered a broken right foot late in the first half of Tuesday night's 81-56 loss at Arkansas-Little Rock. Roberts hobbled with crutches off the team bus when it arrived back in Cape Girardeau early Wednesday morning.

But X-rays taken Wednesday showed there is no fracture, and Roberts has been diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain. Although he is doubtful for Saturday night's home game against Southwest Missouri, he is expected to miss no more than nine or 10 days of action.

"That's really good news," Southeast coach Gary Garner said. "The initial diagnosis from the Arkansas-Little Rock team doctor was a possible fracture.

"He probably won't play Saturday, although Kevin is a tough kid, and he probably thinks he will. But it looks like we could have him back for Creighton and definitely for the start of conference play in January."

Southeast plays at Creighton on Dec. 29.

Roberts was injured in the closing moments of the first half Tuesday when an Arkansas-Little Rock player crashed into his legs in a scramble for the ball, although no foul was called. Roberts remained down in pain for several minutes before being helped off the court.

"It scared me at first. The guy pretty much fell onto my foot," Roberts said Wednesday afternoon as he watched the Indians' practice. "I was afraid it was broken, so this is really good news. I don't know exactly how long I'll be out, but it shouldn't be too long."

Roberts entered Tuesday's game ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in the category of assist-to-turnover ratio with 30 assists and 12 turnovers.

"Kevin has really been playing well," Garner said. "In our two biggest wins this year, he really had good games. He settles us down offensively and he's really good at breaking the press."

Roberts had six assists and just one turnover during a victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee early in the season and Saturday he had six assists and no turnovers as the Indians won at Missouri-Kansas City for their first road triumph of the season.

Others still ailing

While there was good news concerning Roberts, several other key Indians are still ailing as injuries have plagued Southeast (4-5) through the early part of the season.

Sophomore guard Brett Hale missed Tuesday's game after pulling a back muscle at Missouri-Kansas City. He is doubtful for Saturday.

Junior forward Reggie Golson -- a junior-college transfer counted on as one of the Indians' top players -- has appeared in just one game as he has been slow to recover from September arthroscopic knee surgery.

Golson's knee has been checked several times recently and is said to be structurally sound, so Garner is hopeful Golson can soon begin playing regularly as he continues to strengthen the area around the knee.

And freshman forward Cole Grapperhaus did not practice Wednesday because of a back injury he suffered about two weeks ago and recently aggravated.

"We're really depleted right now," Garner said. "Because of the injuries, we've got guys playing out of position and that hurts."

The injury-riddled guard spot will likely mean playing time for walk-on freshman John Boggio, who had played only in a mop-up role before Tuesday, when he played a season-high nine minutes. Prior to Tuesday, Boggio played just 11 minutes all year.

"We have to get him ready to play," Garner said. "He's not really a guard, but we don't have many guards with Kevin and Brett out."

Said sophomore guard Derek Winans, the Indians' leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, "It really hurts us not having two of our guards, but we're just all going to have to step up. And hopefully Kevin and Brett will be back soon."

King steps up again

Early Tuesday, senior guard/forward Demetrius King was considered questionable for that night's game after spraining an ankle during Monday's practice.

But King recovered well and turned in his fourth straight strong performance off the bench as he matched his career high with 17 points to lead the Indians. He hit seven of 12 shots from the field for a team that shot just 34.4 percent for the game.

King, who also had 17 points during a loss to Southern Illinois on Dec. 7, has scored in double figures four straight times and averages 14.6 points per game over his last three contests. He is Southeast's leading 3-point shooter on the season at 45 percent (9-for-20).

"Demetrius may have played one of his better games Tuesday," Garner said. "He's starting to get more consistent. That's what we need out of him."

With Roberts and Hale hobbled, King is scheduled to start Saturday.

Grapperhaus plays well

Grapperhaus saw his most extensive action of the season Tuesday, playing 10 minutes. And after scoring just two points all year, Grapperhaus had five points against Arkansas-Little Rock, making his only field-goal attempt and hitting three of four free throws.

"Cole is playing better all the time," Garner said. "He works hard and I think he'll be a good player for us in the future."

mmishow@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 132