SOUTHEAST TAKES BRAVE APPROACH TO SELF DISCOVERY

Gary Garner is constantly trying to find out as much as he can about his first Southeast Missouri State University basketball team.

Well, Garner figures to learn a whole bunch tonight when his 1-1 Indians face their biggest early home test of the season, taking on the 1-2 Bradley Braves in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center.

"I'm really looking forward to the game because it will show me where we stand against top competition," said Garner. "We had a big test at Colorado and we responded well. This is our first real test at home."

Garner figures tonight's game will also give him an indication of just how the Indians might stack up in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The OVC season starts next week as the Indians have home games with Tennessee State and Austin Peay, picked second and third in the league.

"Our performance against Bradley should be an indication of how we will match up with those top OVC teams," said Garner. "If we can play with Bradley at home, then we should be able to play with Tennessee State and Austin Peay at home.

"From a curiosity standpoint, I want to see how we stack up."

Like Garner, Bradley coach Jim Molinari is also trying to find out plenty about his team, even though Molinari is far from a new coach with the Braves.

But the seventh-year Bradley coach is facing something of a transition year after losing standout Anthony Parker and others from last season's 17-13 squad. The Braves, while talented and highly regarded, are extremely young with only one senior and two juniors listed on their 12-man roster that features seven sophomores and two freshmen.

"We're just a very young basketball team," said Molinari, whose squad starts four sophomores and a senior. "We're having trouble scoring. We're competitive, but our inexperience shows a lot."

Despite their 1-2 record, the Braves have been extremely competitive against rugged competition, losing down-to-the-wire games at Illinois (69-59) and Butler (51-48). Both Illinois and Butler made last year's NCAA Tournament. Bradley's win was at home over Montana (81-54).

"Bradley is very well coached and they're very athletic," Garner said. "They're 1-2, but you can't look at that record. Both losses were against very good basketball teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year.

"They're very good defensively. They're holding their opponents to 35 percent field-goal shooting and if you're still doing that at the end of the season you'll be one of the best in the nation."

The Braves, picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference, are led by a potent inside-outside combination of 6-foot-8 senior center Bayo Akinkunle and 6-1 sophomore guard Rob Dye.

Akinkunle is averaging 14 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while Dye is averaging a team-leading 14.3 points per game.

"They can beat you outside with Dye and inside with Akinkunle," Garner said. "Akinkunle is very aggressive around the basket and he goes to the line a lot. Bud (Eley) guarding the big guy will be a big key. Bud needs to stay out of foul trouble."

Eley, the Indians' 6-10 center, is averaging 16 points per game for the Indians, who have lost at Colorado (62-59) and beat Central Methodist (94-78).

Southeast's leading scorer through the early going is 6-foot guard Cory Johnson, who is averaging 19 points a contest and has made 12 out of 22 three-pointers (55 percent).

Molinari said he is impressed with the Indians after watching them on film and he has plenty of respect for Garner, who used to coach in the MVC at Drake, although that was before Molinari came to Bradley.

"I know coach Garner's reputation, as an MVC coach and later what he did at Fort Hays State," Molinari said. "SEMO's big man is excellent and they have excellent guards."

Bradley at SEMO

7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

Probable Starters

SEMO (1-1)

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Calvert White F Sr. 6-4 7.5

David Montgomery F Jr. 6-8 10.0

Bud Eley C Sr. 6-10 16.0

Cory Johnson G Jr. 6-0 19.0

Kahn Cotton G Jr. 5-10 8.0

BU (1-2))

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Michael Collins F So. 6-6 3.7

Aba Koitabi F So. 6-8 2.0

Bayo Akinkunle C Sr. 6-8 14.0

Rob Dye G So. 6-1 14.3

Eric Roberson G So. 6-4 9.3

Series: Bradley leads 1-0

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