Southern Illinois University
21-4, 11-2MVC
Drake
10-13, 5-8MVC
Men's Basketball Tops Drake, 66-57
02/09/2002 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2002
Postgame Audio
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois held Drake to one field goal in the first 13 minutes of the game and then had to hold on for a 66-57 win over the Bulldogs Saturday night in front of 6,904 fans at SIU Arena.
"We won the game, but it was ugly," Saluki head coach Bruce Weber said. "We had a great crowd, and you wish that you could have the same kind of energy that we had against Wichita, but you aren't going to play perfect every game.
The Salukis (21-4, 11-2) scored the first 14 points of the game and led 24-3 after Kent Williams hit a jumper with 6:53 left in the first half.
However, the Bulldogs (10-13, 5-8) regrouped and closed the gap to 27-18 at the 1:38 mark. SIU got a basket by Jermaine Dearman, and a three-point play by Rolan Roberts to take a 32-19 lead at intermission.
In the second half, Drake clawed their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to four, 51-47, with four minutes remaining.
Roberts, who scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, hit a baseline hook shot, and Dearman slammed home a two-handed dunk off a feed from Roberts to put SIU up 55-47. Dearman also finished with 18 points and led the team with 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs countered with a basket by Luke McDonald to close the game to 55-49, but they came no closer the rest of the way.
"We got ahead early, and it was so easy," Weber said. "Then, all the sudden, we couldn't make shots and nothing was going our way. We weren't coming up with loose balls, we were missing lay-ups, you can't make free-throws, and then it becomes a game again."
"We had a horrible practice yesterday, very casual. I kicked a bunch of things, got very mad, and they didn't respond. We just didn't practice well, and that is how they played, they went through the motions.''
