Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
2-0
Jacksonville St.
2-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville State | 21 | 28 | 49 |
| Southern Illinois | 40 | 44 | 84 |
Men's Basketball Toasts Gamecocks, 84-49, on Thanksgiving Eve
11/26/2003 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - On the eve of Thanksgiving, Southern Illinois feasted on Gamecocks, as the Salukis first smothered their prey from Jacksonville State with a withering defense, then toasted them with the hot shooting of Brad Korn.
The outcome was never in question as Southern Illinois (2-0) rolled to an 84-49 victory Wednesday night in its home opener, extending the nation's third-longest home-court winning streak to 28 games.
Korn did most of his damage in the first half, making all five shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, giving him 13 at the break. He finished with a career-high 17 points to lead the team.
"Brad is a lot more assertive," head coach Matt Painter said of his 6-foot-9, senior forward. "He's also getting an opportunity. (Last year), we kind of used him as a pinch-hitter. He backed up Jermaine (Dearman), took a couple threes, and we'd get him out. Now he's getting more opportunities and is making more of an effort to rebound the ball, mix it up in the paint, and tonight he just got in a great flow."
Korn was joined in double figures by teammates Darren Brooks (15), Stetson Hairston (13), Sylvester Willis (12) and LaMar Owen (10).
With SIU trailing 8-6 early in the game, Korn hit his first 3-point attempt at the 14:44 mark, which started a 15-1 Saluki run spanning the next seven minutes.
"I just had a lot of energy tonight," Korn said. "My shot felt good. But we have eight guys who could step up at any time. We don't have just one guy, and that's to our advantage."
Southern's defense held Jacksonville State (2-1) to just 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) shooting in the first half as SIU built a 40-21 lead at intermission.
"If you look at the way other college teams play, there aren't many who play (defense) like we do," Korn said. "It's all Coach Painter. He's adamant about it. There's no breaks."
"I told our guys, 'We gave a big-time effort at Wyoming. Now, let these people see that big-time effort,'" Painter said. "'Show the people who listened to (the game) how hard you guys play in person.'"
In the second half, the lead ballooned to as many 37 as Painter cleared his bench, and all 11 players saw action. It was SIU's most lopsided win since beating Wichita State by 35 points last February.
In two games this season versus Wyoming and JSU, both opponents have been held below 35 percent shooting. Unlike the first game against Wyoming, in which the Salukis were out-rebounded, Southern grabbed 15 more boards than the Gamecocks.
"We don't have one guy who can dominate the boards," Painter said. "We have to have a lot of different guys rebound."
Southern returns to action Saturday at UW-Milwaukee in a rematch of last year's Bracket Buster game, won by SIU on a last-second tip-in by Hairston.
