Southern Illinois University
6-1
Murray St.
8-0
Men's Basketball Drops 68-64 Decision at Murray State
12/17/2003 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2003
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
MURRAY, Ky. - Southern Illinois head coach Matt Painter erased every word on the chalkboard after the Salukis lost a 68-64 heartbreaker at Murray State Wednesday night except one. Poise.
"We lost our poise," Painter told his team. "And that's why we lost this game, gentlemen."
Murray State (8-0) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to hand Southern Illinois its first loss of the season. The Racers used a withering full court press and the sensational play of forward Cuthbert Victor, who scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, to complete a furious comeback.
Southern Illinois (6-1) kept the crowd of 6,422 quiet through the first 20 minutes of action, holding the Racers to 43 percent shooting, as the Salukis staked out a 38-25 halftime lead.
"If they don't score, they can't press," Painter said. "I thought our defense in the first half was tremendous and didn't allow them to press. Our breakdowns defensively in the second half let them set up the press, and they were able to set the tempo."
Although SIU extended its lead to 15 points, 44-29, early in the second half, the momentum was short-lived.
Victor hit a layup, and after a Saluki turnover, Kelvin Brown drained a 3-pointer to close the gap to 44-34. Suddenly, the crowd was energized, and the Racers fed off its enthusiasm to complete a 25-8 run. The Salukis looked up at the clock with 7:51 remaining and found themselves trailing, 54-52.
"We didn't play smart," said Saluki guard Stetson Hairston, who led the team with 14 points. "We have a lot of guys on this team who have been around the last two years, who have been through runs. We're a veteran team, but we didn't show it in the second half."
Painter said the matchups during the decisive run didn't favor SIU.
"We got into a situation in the second half where you want a lineup in there to be able to get the ball past half court against the press, but then that lineup really wasn't the lineup we wanted from an offensive standpoint," he said. "It was tough for me to find that right lineup, and obviously, I didn't."
However, the Salukis weren't about to concede the game, and their leading scorer, Darren Brooks hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give SIU a 58-54 lead with 6:25 to go.
Unfortunately for the Salukis, they hit a five minute offensive dry spell and were outscored 11-0.
"We played the final seven minutes of the game like there were 20 seconds left in the game," Painter said. "When a team makes a big comeback and gets the lead from you, then you come back and take that lead the way we did, normally that takes the wind out of their sails. It's a credit to Murray State that they were able to go on an 11-0 run."
Trailing 65-58 with 2:53 left, SIU had one last run of its own. Brooks made a layup, Hairston converted a pair of free throws and Jamal Tatum hit a layup to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 21 seconds left. Tatum then stole the ensuing inbounds pass, and it looked like a miracle ending might be in store for Southern.
After a timeout by each team, however, Murray State turned up the halfcourt pressure and forced Hairston into an off-balance 3-pointer with five seconds remaining. It did not draw iron, and Victor grabbed the rebound to seal the win for Murray State.
"The reason we've won four road games this year is we've had great poise," Painter said. "And the reason we lost tonight is we lost our poise. It's that simple."
Southern Illinois, which played on one day's rest, returns to action Sunday against Montana at home. The Salukis play five of their next six games at home, where they have the nation's second-longest home-court winning streak at 29 games.
