SOUTHEAST TO TAKE ON NEW, IMPROVED LIONS

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Missouri Southern coach Robert Corn would like to think his Lions are getting good enough to boast a familiar advertising strategy : New and improved.

Eleven new players make up the Missouri Southern roster this season. Among the four returnees is former Notre Dame High standout Ronnie Ressel, who shares time at the point with sophomore guard Keith Allen.

Among the newcomers is Kenny Simpson, a 6-foot-5 junior marksman who is averaging 20.2 points and 10.9 rebounds a contest. Simpson was just named MIAA Player of the week for his work in helping keep the Lions unbeaten in conference play.

The combination of junior college transfers and youthful newcomers has not only given the Lions a different outlook, it has also bolstered their playoff hopes.

"We've made progress in our last two games," said Corn, whose contingent is on a three-game winning streak. "We've still got to strive to get better if we hope to make a run at any of the top four, though," he added.

Southeast, picked to finish fourth in this year's conference race, is among the teams Corn considers have a legitimate shot at the MIAA title.

Just how far Corn's Lions have improved could be determined when they hook up with Southeast Missouri State tonight.

"This game will tell me a great deal about how far along we are as a team," said Corn, whose squad is 7-4 overall and 2-0 in the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

The Lions are coming off a 94-65 rout over Lincoln. Southeast Missouri's overall confidence picked up following an 81-77 victory over then No. 2-ranked Central Missouri State.

Southeast carries a 10-3, 1-1 mark into tonight's 7:30 p.m. road matchup.

"Southeast should be a very good test for us," said Corn. "We didn't handle their pressure defense very well at all," noted Corn of last year's 111-75 drubbing at the Show Me Center.

The Lions pushed the Indians to the brink at home last season only to suffer a 96-85 overtime loss to the Tribe.

"We turned the ball over way too much in the game at Cape," added Corns. "We're going to have to take care of the ball in this game and hit the boards hard because Southeast is very strong inside."

The Indians have been led all season by inside power players Danny Dohogne and Thomas Thames.

Dohogne averages 17.6 points a contest and ranks 12th in the nation in field goal percentage at .659.

Devon Lake, who plays the No. 3 position, is pushing Dohogne with a 17.2 per game scoring average.

Take away Lake's 17-of-51 three-point shooting percentage of .333 and the Indian sophomore has the highest shooting percentage from the floor. Lake has connected on 66-of-86 shots from the field from inside the 3-point arc.

Thames averages 13.5 points a game and leads the Indians in rebounding with a 10.1 per game average, good for 21st in the nation. Southern's Simpson ranks 13th in the nation in rebounding.

Dohogne pulls down 9.3 boards a contest.

Southeast benefited from improved guard play by junior Rob Jones and Johnnie Coleman last Saturday.

"We were much more consistent in our guard play and in a lot of areas," said Southeast coach Ron Shumate. "The big difference between our loss to UMSL and win over Central was 31 turnovers in St. Louis versus only five at home," noted Shumate.

"Consistency is something we're going to have to strive for from here on out, especially on the road."

SOUTHEAST NOTES : Despite knocking off the No. 2-ranked Division II team in the country last Saturday, Southeast failed to crack the top 20 in this week's poll. In fact, the Indians didn't even receive a vote.