Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
10-4, 5-1MVC
Creighton
15-1, 6-0MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 45 | 31 | 76 |
| Creighton | 37 | 48 | 85 |
Men's Basketball Falls to #13 Creighton, 85-76
01/18/2003 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Jan 18, 2003
OMAHA, Neb.-- Creighton's Kyle Korver made three 3-pointers during a 38-second stretch of the second half to rally the #13-ranked Bluejays to an 85-76 win over Southern Illinois Saturday in a game televised nationally by ESPN2.
Southern Illinois (10-4, 5-1) led by as many as 13 points in the first half and quieted a packed house at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Darren Brooks caught fire early for the Salukis, converting 5-of-7 field goals in the first 20 minutes, en route to 17 points on the afternoon.
With SIU trailing 25-23, Jermaine Dearman started a 17-2 Saluki run by hitting a short jumper with 9:07 left in the first half. Both Brad Korn and Bryan Turner nailed 3-pointers during the run, and Blake Schoen made a free throw at 4:16 to give Southern its biggest lead, 40-27.
By halftime, the Bluejays had trimmed the lead to 45-37, and two Saluki big men, Korn and Sylvester Willis, were saddled with three personal fouls.
Creighton (15-1, 6-0), which used a full court press throughout the game, forced four turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half and whittled the Saluki lead down to three, 47-44.
Korver, who finished with a game-high 24 points, tied the game, 47-47, on the first of his flurry of 3-pointers. After the press forced a Dearman turnover, Korver hit another bomb that brought the crowd to a fever pitch.
Southern tied the game, 50-50, on a 3-pointer by Korn, but Korver answered at 14:07 with yet another three.
The Salukis withstood the rally and regained the lead on a Josh Warren jumper at 10:21 that put SIU up 58-55. But Mike Grimes hit a layup and was fouled by Dearman, and he completed a three-point play to tie the game.
A Stetson Hairston jump shot with 8:28 remaining evened the score at 62-62. However, Korver hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game on Creighton's next possession, and the Bluejays never relinquished the momentum or the lead thereafter.
The Salukis had four players in double figures, led by Dearman's 18 points. Southern made more 3-pointers and out-rebounded Creighton, however the Bluejays held a huge advantage at the free throw line, where they converted 30-of-40 attempts. SIU made 4-of-8 free throw tries.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Bruce Weber:
"I wanted to see how far we've come. We were horrible three weeks ago. We weren't a good team. And in the last three weeks, we've made some progress, I think our guys are cut in now. We wanted to see if we could compete with a top team on the road. I think we did it. Did we finish it and play smart in the second half? No. We didn't. We just panicked a little bit and let the crowd get into it. We made big shots in the first half that quieted them down, we couldn't do that in the second half."
"(Creighton) stepped up. Korver made big plays. We couldn't finish buckets inside when we needed to. I thought we took quick shots at the start of the second half. In the first half, we worked the ball and got open shots. I guess their defensive intensity picked up as it went. We've got to make layups. We had plenty of easy shots in there, and we couldn't get it down."
"I did not appreciate the differential in free throws, but that's what happens on the road."
"I think it's human nature when you don't score on offense, now maybe you break down on defense. It's the mental discipline. They ran a couple quick hitters. We know the plays."
"Korver's very smart. We told our kids at halftime, he didn't get a lot of looks and they were going to try to get him looks, and they did. But then, the best thing about him is when we did get out on him, he hit the big guys for open layups inside. They had us all screwed up in the second half. We probably tired a little bit, then you break down mentally, and the crowd got into it. Great crowd for them. Great situation for our kids to play in. I think they enjoyed it. They didn't enjoy losing."
"Josh is a good player and he's probably more of an offensive threat than Sly (Willis). Sly was just over-excited at the beginning of the game. He fouled twice right away and threw the ball away. Then he goes back in and tries to do too much and gets another foul. It was a bad day for him, but he'll come back, and hopefully, we'll come back as a team."
"(Creighton's) pressure makes you go fast, and we went too fast, and too early in the shot clock took some questionable shots."
"I still remember four years ago, the first time we played (Korver), he was just another guy on the scouting report. He'd hit a couple threes. Now, he handles the ball, he passes, he dribbles, he does everything for them. He's a tremendous player and definitely deserving of all his accolades."
"Our next goal is to be 8-1 at the turn. We've got Northern Iowa on the road and then two home games. I'm not sure (Creighton's) going to lose. They could go 18-0. Sooner or later, you think they're going to have a letdown, but they don't seem to."
Jermaine Dearman:
"We took care of the ball a lot better in the first half. In the second half, the press kind of got to us and guys started getting a little fatigued, including myself. We weren't making as hard of cuts as we were in the first half. They got up on us and were tipping balls and getting steals and getting momentum off of it."
"They got the crowd going and the momentum going. It's tough to stop teams at home. The crowd gets into it, and you can't hear your teammates."
"We had an opportunity to beat a ranked team. This was our big chance. We played our hardest, we left it all on the court, that's all that matters. I have a real sick feeling in my stomach, but we've got to move on."
Kent Williams:
"We were hitting in the first half, so we kind of came out with confidence in the second half, but we didn't work the ball around and really break them down."
"The biggest thing we (didn't do to guard Korver) was we didn't have anybody showing. The guy is coming off three screens, every once in a while the guy who's guarding him is going to get bumped, so we have to have somebody step out, and if anything, just switch and let somebody else get a two-point layup instead of letting him get a three."
"We've come a long way. Now we have to keep it going. Our whole focus this week was the Wichita and Northern Iowa games. This was the game to test and see where we stand. We battled with one of the best teams in the country at their place. We feel pretty good about it because they still have to come back to our place. At that time of the season, it could mean the championship. We just have to keep making improvements."
