TENNESSEE TECH TO BE TOUGH TEST FOR SE IN OVC OPENER

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Gary Garner figures his Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball team could have picked a better opponent to start Ohio Valley Conference play against.

That's because Garner regards Tennessee Tech as one of the top teams in the OVC. The visiting Indians (3-0) and Eagles (1-2) will square off at 8 o'clock tonight at the Eblen Center."I think this is going to be an extremely difficult game for us," said Garner. "I believe Tennessee Tech will really be a factor in the conference. I think they're a very good basketball team."Garner hopes the Indians will be able to pick up right where they left off last season as far as being road warriors. A year ago, Southeast went 8-1 in OVC road games, which was a major reason they compiled a 15-3 league record and finished second, just one game behind powerhouse Murray State."What we did on the road last year was really unusual," said Garner. "You just don't see many teams in any conference winning that many games on the road."We were a very good road team last year. We played better on the road than at home. I know last year we beat Austin Peay and Tennessee State on the road to start league play and that really gave us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season that we could go on the road and win."In order to win tonight, Garner figures the Indians will have to at least slow down the Eagles' talented guard tandem of 6-foot-2 senior Josh Heard and 6-1 senior Corey Hemphill, who form one of the OVC's top backcourts."Their guards are very good," Garner said. "A big key will be how we handle them."Heard and Hemphill took the OVC by storm last season after transferring from junior colleges, averaging 16.6 and 15.9 points per game, respectively, to rank among the league's top scorers. Hemphill was also one of the top assist men in the OVC at five per game."They both can do a lot of things really well," said Garner.

So far this season, Heard is averaging 16.3 points per game while Hemphill is at 11.3, although both have struggled some with their shooting.

The Eagles don't appear to be nearly as dependent on their backcourt this year as they were last season, when as Heard and Hemphill went, so pretty much did Tech.

While Tech returns two other starters from last season in 6-6 sophomore forward Joey Westmoreland (4.3 ppg) and 6-9 senior center Eric Akins (2.7 ppg), the Eagles are getting plenty of mileage out of a highly-regarded recruiting class.

Junior-college product Larrie Smith, a 6-5 junior forward, is averaging 14 points and a team-high

11 rebounds per game."Smith is really a good rebounder," Garner said. "He really goes to the boards."Three touted freshmen guards have been giving the Eagles quite a boost off the bench: Leigh Gayden (8.0 ppg), Brent Jolly (7.3 ppg) and Trey Ferguson (6.3 ppg). Ferguson originally committed to Indiana while Jolly is a two-time Mr. Basketball in Tennessee.

Eleven players are averaging at least 10 minutes per game for the Eagles, making depth one of their major strengths."Depth is one of their big strengths this year, along with their experience and their exceptional strength at guard," said Garner. "They really bring a lot of people off the bench. Having 11 players who play that much is really unusual."Tonight's game will mark the Indians' only OVC contest until January. While getting a victory would be nice, Garner emphasizes that it's not a do-or-die situation for Southeast."With 18 (OVC) games, this won't make or break us," he said. "But last year winning those first two (league games) on the road really gave us a lot of confidence and I think this could be a similar type of situation."Garner really doesn't know what kind of performance to expect from his relatively inexperienced squad that features just three seniors blended in with five key juco transfers.

But Garner does know that the Indians will be ready to play and ready to play hard."We'll have to play really well to beat them," he said. "But we'll be ready to play. We'll get after it."

SEMO vs. Tennessee Tech

8 p.m., Eblen Center, Cookeville, Tenn.

Probable StartersSEMO (3-0.

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Roderick Johnson F Sr. 6-6 11.7Mike Branson F Sr. 6-6 11.7Brian Bunche C Sr. 6-8 7.0Michael Stokes G Jr. 6-0 9.7 Amory Sanders G Jr. 6-1 10.7Tennessee Tech (1-2.

Player Pos. Yr. Ht. Avg.

Larrie Smith F Jr. 6-5 14.0Joey Westmoreland F So. 6-6 4.3Eric Akins C Sr. 6-9 2.7Josh Heard G Sr. 6-2 16.3Corey Hemphill G Sr. 6-1 11.3Series: Tied 8-8Last Year: The teams split, SEMO winning 64-51 and Tech winning 68-62Coaches: Gary Garner is 37-22 in his third season at SEMO and 285-185 in his 17th season overall; Jeff Lebo is 13-17 in his second season at TechRadio: K103-FM