TRIBE WILL TAKE PERFECT MARK INTO OVC PLAY

Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians, riding high with their best-ever start under coach Gary Garner, face a pair of challenging firsts this week.

Not only will the Indians hit the road for the first time, Thursday night's game against Tennessee Tech will also mark the start of Ohio Valley Conference play for Garner's squad.

So there's no question that the Indians -- whose 3-0 start has been built with three victories at home -- will be severely tested as they tip off their league schedule against a team that Garner believes will be a legitimate OVC contender."This is going to be an extremely tough game for us," said Garner during his weekly media conference Monday. "The whole conference is going to have to contend with Tennessee Tech. I feel like their program is really on the rise and they'll not only be good this year but for the future."The Eagles are off to a 1-2 start. They lost their first two games on the road, falling to Georgia Southern 83-81 and Alabama 91-72 before rolling past North Carolina-Asheville 85-51 Saturday night.

Even though it's difficult to compare scores, Garner pointed out that the same North Carolina-Asheville team that Tech routed led Missouri by nine points at halftime before losing by six points."Tennessee Tech lost a tough game at Georgia Southern, they lost at a very good Alabama team and then just rolled past North Carolina-Ashville, which lost by just six points at Missouri," Garner said. "I think they're a very good basketball team."The Eagles were one of only two OVC teams to beat Southeast last season as they pulled off a 68-62 upset in Cape Girardeau after the Indians had rolled to a 64-51 win in Cookeville, Tenn. Murray State was the only other OVC squad to defeat Southeast in 1998-99, handing the Indians three losses.

Jeff Lebo, the former North Carolina standout guard who is in his second season as Tech's coach, definitely appears to have the Eagles' program on the upswing. The Eagles improved to 12-15 last year and are regarded by most OVC observers as one of the league's prime darkhorse contenders.

Tech returned four starters from last season, led by senior guards Josh Heard and Corey Hemphill, who form one of the OVC's top backcourts. The Eagles also have a highly regarded recruiting class and appear to be deep, with 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes of action so far."Their biggest strengths appear to be they're exceptionally strong at guard, they've got a lot of experience and they're deep," said Garner. "It's going to be a very difficult game for us."That being said, Garner is looking forward to seeing how his relatively inexperienced squad handles its first road test of the season."I'm anxious to get on the bus and get down there," said Garner, whose team will leave for Cookeville Wednesday morning. "I'm anxious to see how we respond."n Senior forward Roderick Johnson, one of two returning starters and one of only three seniors for the Indians, is shooting an amazing 82.4 percent from the field after three games. He's hit 14 of 17 shots."Roderick has been really consistent so far," said Garner.

Johnson is averaging 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Also averaging in double figures in scoring so far are senior forward Mike Branson (11.7), the other returning starter; junior guard Antonio Short (11.0); and junior guard Amory Sanders (10.7).Junior guard Michael Stokes and junior center Nyah Jones are both just off double figures at 9.7.

Jones has been solid off the bench, shooting 64 percent from the field and also averaging 5.7 rebounds while playing less than 20 minutes a game."Nyah has really been giving us a lift coming in off the bench," Garner said. "He's really played well offensively."Senior center Brian Bunche is the Indians' leading rebounder at 7.3 per game.

Stokes, the Indians' point guard, is averaging five rebounds and five assists per contest.

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Short, who missed Saturday's win over Montana with a sprained wrist, is doubtful for Thursday night. The wrist has been slow to come around and Short was to have had further X-rays taken Monday."It doesn't look good," said Garner. "He probably won't play (Thursday night)."

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Two other Southeast players are still out with injuries. Freshman forward Demarcus Hence will miss a few more days with tendonitis and sophomore walkon guard Ryan Thomas has a broken bone in his foot.

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Sophomore guard Fred Abraham, who is academically ineligible to play the first semester, will become eligible prior to the Arkansas State game Dec. 18 as long as he meets academic requirements.

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Heavy preseason OVC favorite Murray State had an impressive weekend as the Racers finished second in the Hoop & Quill Classic at the new Family Sports Arena in St. Charles.

Murray State beat Rutgers 87-83, routed Valparaiso 78-58 and suffered a 65-62 loss to Southern Mississippi in the finals.

Austin Peay, tied with Southeast as the OVC's No. 2 team in the preseason poll, followed up its impressive 14-point win at Arkansas State by suffering a surprising 71-70 overtime loss at home to Belmont Saturday.