March 23, 2000 6:33 AM AP

DALLAS (AP) Two Southern Methodist University basketball players were suspended indefinitely for violating team rules following a Western Athletic Conference tournament game in California.

University officials, describing what they called "inappropriate and disruptive behavior involving a few students" after the WAC tourney earlier this month, said Wednesday that two members of the SMU spirit squad were also suspended from their team.

The university said it took the action after receiving information from Fresno, Calif., police.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified the suspended Mustangs players as Jeryl Sasser and Renaldo Bratton.

Sasser and Bratton, both juniors, were questioned about incidents that took place in their hotel room at a party that included members of the SMU basketball team and spirit squad, according to a Fresno police department report.

SMU athletic director Jim Copeland and coach Mike Dement suspended the basketball players indefinitely for violating team rules, the school said in a written statement.

But university officials did not return a telephone call today from The Associated Press.

According to the Fresno police report, officers were called early on March 10 to a hotel, where a woman told officers that two members of the SMU men's basketball team "touched her through her clothes with their hands." The woman told police she did not want to file formal charges, the report said.

In interviews with police, several basketball players and members of the spirit squad said they were drinking, but denied the woman was assaulted, the report said.

The incident allegedly occurred hours after the Mustangs ended their regular season with elimination from the first round of the WAC tournament in a 87-82 loss to Hawaii on March 9.

Several members of the team and the squad spent the hours after the loss drinking at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fresno, according to the police report.

Sasser, a 6-foot-6 guard, made first-team all-WAC and led SMU in scoring. Bratton, a 6-foot guard, played a reserve role.

Both Bratton and Sasser remained on the team as SMU lost in the National Invitation Tournament to Southwest Missouri State last Thursday.

Bob Wright, a SMU spokesman, told the Star-Telegram the school received the police report Tuesday and did not take action against any players before the NIT game because "the police report contained information not given to us previously."

Darren McCoy, SMU spirit coordinator, voluntarily resigned in the early stages of the investigation last week in which three squad members were questioned, the Star-Telegram said. Police noted that McCoy had "bloodshot watery eyes, a strong odor of alcohol" and said he "attempted to obstruct police questioning of one of the spirit members."

University officials began their own investigation of possible violations of SMU's code of conduct during a school-sponsored trip, including documentation of underage drinking. The report includes instances of a 21-year-old player giving vodka to a 20-year-old squad member.

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