Southern Illinois University
10-2
Murray St.
7-5
Men's Basketball Beats Murray State, 67-63
12/29/2001 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2001
MURRAY, Ky. - Jermaine Dearman hit a driving layup with 33 seconds left, and Kent Williams sank two free throws with six seconds remaining to lift Southern Illinois to a 67-63 win at Murray State Saturday.
Trailing 63-62 with 50 seconds left, the Salukis called timeout to set up an inbounds play. Dearman took the pass and drove baseline to score the bucket.
On Murray State's next possession, Justin Burdine, who led all scorers with 29 points, missed a jump shot with 20 seconds left. The Racers' 7-foot center, Andi Horning, grabbed the offensive rebound, however. His shot attempt was then blocked by Rolan Roberts and rebounded by Williams. Williams was fouled and hit one of two free throws to give SIU a 65-63 lead with 14 seconds left.
Trailing by two, Burdine missed a 3-point shot and Williams pulled down the rebound and was fouled with nine seconds left. He hit both free throws to seal the victory.
"Murray State plays very well here. They're an explosive team," Saluki head coach Bruce Weber said. "We survived their runs, but we couldn't finish the game. We kept missing free throws and open looks on 3-pointers."
Murray State (7-5) led by as many as six points in the second half, though the lead changed hands seven times. Southern Illinois (10-2) shot just 39 percent from the free throw line, converting 11-of-28 attempts.
"It's unbelievable that we could survive that kind of free throw shooting and still win on the road," Weber said. "It was a gutsy performance by our kids. Their intensity level was much better than it was the last two weeks. I told our team we needed to return to the level we played at earlier this season, and they did."
Williams led the Salukis with 18 points, but was held to just 5-of-18 shooting. Roberts had another strong game in the paint for SIU, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
Trailing 15-9 midway through the first half, the Salukis used a 12-2 run to build a 21-17 advantage at the 7:54 mark. The spurt began with a 3-pointer by Darren Brooks and included jumpers by Tyrese Buie and Stetson Hairston, and a dunk by Roberts.
The Racers rallied back to take a 29-28 lead with 1:54 left before halftime, but SIU ended the half with a 5-1 burst that featured a 3-pointer by Williams and a dunk by Dearman.
The second half was a see-saw battle of runs.
Southern scored the first two baskets of the second half on field goals by Williams and Hairston to build a 37-29 lead. However, Murray State reeled off a 20-6 run that included four 3-pointers to take a 49-43 lead at the 13:08 mark.
The Salukis answered with a 12-0 run to go up 55-49 with 10:02 left. Roberts scored five points during the run on a layup, a dunk and a free throw.
Murray State would not go away, however. The Racers rallied back to take a 63-62 lead with 50 seconds left.
Quoting Coach Weber: We talk about playing hard and playing tough, but also playing smarter than them. What got us to our early success has been toughness, rebounding and solid defense.
At the start of the second half, we got two quick buckets, then got very casual. Maturity and playing smart will keep you from doing that.
That (wrist injury) to Rolan was scary. I tell our guys, this can be taken away from you any day, so you gotta have your education, your family, your health.
When we were down by six, we kept our composure and a few good plays helped get us back. I told our team, Murry State is a team of runs, and the game really went back and forth.
Now, we're on to the (Missouri Conference) Valley and we're at the top. So, let's go see if we can prove them right.
