SE HOPES TO EXHIBIT BETTER FORM AGAINST VASDA USA STARS

It might be hard to believe, but the start of the 1999-2000 basketball season for Southeast Missouri State University's Indians is less than a week away.

And today, the Indians will have their final exhibition tuneup when the Vasda USA Stars, a team of former collegiate players based out of Atlanta, comes to the Show Me Center for a 3 p.m. tipoff.

Southeast coach Gary Garner is looking for a much better performance than the Indians had during their first exhibition game, a 72-68 loss to the Dreambuilders last Saturday."I expect us to be a lot better than we were the last game," said Garner. "Even though we lost, that first game was good for us, coming when it did, because it really showed us the things we need to work on. We should be a lot sharper (today)."While Garner will be looking for a victory today, he said he won't approach this exhibition game any differently than he has the countless other exhibition contests he's coached in."You want to win every game. We emphasize that winning is what it's about. That's why they hang the scoreboard," Garner said. "But we still want to take a good look at our players, and we don't prepare for exhibition games. We don't even know who will be guarding who until we get on the floor."One of the visiting players on the floor today will be familiar to Southeast fans. Devon Lake, a 6-foot-3 guard who competes for the Vasda team, ranks as one of the best basketball players to ever suit up for the Indians.

Lake, who has been playing professionally overseas the past few years, scored 1,279 points during his Southeast career from

1989-93 to rank as the Indians' fifth all-time leading scorer. The native of Boliver, Tenn., averaged 22.3 points per game as a senior. The Indians open the regular season Friday night when they host Western Carolina.

SEMO women also play todaySoutheast's women's basketball team had originally been scheduled to have its final exhibition game Monday night, but the contest has been moved to today and will begin 30 minutes after the men's game at the Show Me Center.

The Otahkians will take on Friends, an AAU team out of Indianapolis. The schedule change was made because Southeast's originally scheduled foe, the Ukraine National Team, could not gain travel visas to leave the country.

Southeast's women defeated St. Louis Goldstar in its opening exhibition game.

The Otahkians tip off the regular season Friday when they face Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the Arkansas State Tournament.