TOURNAMENT TIME ARRIVES: INDIANS HOPE THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM AGAINST AP

Austin Peay didn't win the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season men's basketball championship this year.

In fact, the Governors fell quite a bit short of the title that many observers had predicted for them, finishing three games out of first and winding up fourth in the nine-team league.

But that doesn't keep most people -- Southeast Missouri State University coach Gary Garner included -- from considering the Govs to be the OVC's most talented squad.

"They definitely have the most talented starting five in the league," said Garner. "Their talent level is just really high."

Tonight, in a 7:30 tipoff at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tenn., Garner's Indians will try to derail the talent-rich Govs when the squads meet in a first-round OVC Tournament game. The winner advances to Friday's tourney semifinals in Nashville, Tenn.

Austin Peay, the eight-team tourney's No. 4 seed, wound up the regular season with a 20-9 overall record and a 10-6 OVC mark.

Fifth-seeded Southeast finished 18-11 overall and 8-8 in the league. The defending OVC co-champion Indians fell well short of contending for the regular-season title -- to the surprise of most -- but they'll carry a five-game winning streak into the conference tourney.

"I like our momentum going into the tournament," said Garner. "We've really improved the last few weeks, especially offensively. We're just playing so much better than we were."

Whether that will be good enough to keep the Govs from making it three in a row over the Indians this season remains to be seen.

Austin Peay put together two impressive performances against Southeast during the regular season. First came a dominating 88-60 victory on Jan. 6 in Clarksville and then a down-to-the-wire 77-72 triumph on Feb. 1 in Cape Girardeau.

"They've really played well against us in both games, especially the first one," Garner said. "I know I said after that game that if they played like that the rest of the year, nobody in our league would touch them."

But the Govs did not keep up the pace from that Jan. 6 nationally televised contest on ESPN.

Still, the Govs have to be considered one of the favorites to capture the OVC Tournament championship, based on the type of talent they put on the floor.

Austin Peay features probably four of the more physically gifted players in the conference, led of course by sensational 6-foot-5 senior swingman Trenton Hassell, who is regarded as a possible first-round NBA draft pick.

Hassell is third in the league in scoring at 21.6 points per game, third in rebounding at 7.9 a contest and fourth in assists at 4.7 per game.

Hassell had been a model of consistency for the Govs -- until Saturday night, that is. In a surprising 83-60 loss at Tennessee State, Hassell scored just four points to snap a string of 34 games in which he had reached double figures.

"He shot two for 14 in that game and he'll probably shoot 14 for 14 against us," said Garner with a laugh.

The Govs have plenty of other weapons. Senior point guard Nick Stapleton is the OVC's No. 7 scorer (17.7 ppg), 6-8 senior center Joe Williams (14.0 ppg) is second in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and 6-7 senior forward Theanthony Haymon (9.8 ppg) leads the league in field-goal shooting at 66.9 percent. Williams is third in that category at 57.2 percent.

"Hassell, Williams and Stapleton are really good, and the player people overlook, Haymon, on a lot of teams, he might be their best player," Garner said.

Austin Peay leads the nation in field-goal shooting at 50.9 percent, which Garner attributes partly to the Govs' strength on the offensive boards.

"Rebounding will be big. We have got to limit their second shots," he said. "And we're going to have to control the game from an offensive standpoint. They're going to score some points, but we can't get in an up-and-down game with them."

While Garner sings the praises of the Govs, Austin Peay coach Dave Loos is likewise impressed with the Indians, particularly the way they've come on in recent weeks.

"I think they're really playing well right now," Loos said. "And I'm a little concerned about our game Saturday night (against Tennessee State). We took a pretty good whipping and I think a big factor will be how we respond."

Loos isn't sure if his team's two previous victories over Southeast will mean anything tonight.

"I don't think it matters," he said. "It just comes down to what happens in this game."

Garner realizes how tough it will be for Southeast to win tonight, especially because of Austin Peay's talent and the fact the Govs have lost just once at home all season.

"We know how difficult it's going to be down there, but I think if we do the things we can do, we can win," he said. "I think our players feel like we can win there. I look for us to play well."