Southern Illinois University
3-0
Vanderbilt
3-1
Men's Basketball Whips Vanderbilt, 67-53
11/26/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2004
By Shalae Schulte
www.SIUSalukis.com
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - As Southern Illinois fans painted the Valley High School gym maroon, the Salukis exploded to beat SEC foe Vanderbilt, 67-53, to advance to the finals of the Las Vegas Invitational. SIU will play Saturday at 9:30 p.m. CT against UTEP in the championship game.
The Salukis (3-0) never trailed, keeping the Commodores (3-1) scoreless nearly the first four minutes of the game, and held the 50 percent three-pointing shooting team to 31 percent behind the arc and 34 percent from the field.
LaMar Owen who recorded the third double-double of his career, scored a career-high 21 points and 10 boards led the Dawgs. The 6-foot-5, undersized forward had the advantage in quickness against the bigger, slower Commodores.
"We really put them in a bind in transition," said Saluki head coach Chris Lowery. "We just told LaMar to turn it into a track meet. He out-ran them and out-quicked them. There were times when he went against 7-2, 6-11, 6-10 guys, and he didn't flinch one bit."
Stetson Hairston added 15 points and four assists, while Darren Brooks scored 11 points, dished out three assists and tallied two steals. Jamaal Tatum was solid across the board, with nine points, four assists and three steals.
Vanderbilt, which returned four starters from last year's Sweet 16 team, was no match for the Salukis' speedy defense as SIU held the Commodores' Dawid Przbyszewski, a 7-2 center, averaging 10 boards and nearly 12 points a game, scoreless with one rebound.
"Vanderbilt is an NCAA Tournament team (this year)," Lowery said. "Our guys were really cut-in. Yesterday, I got on them a bit in practice about being front runners - just showing up. This morning, they were ready to play. Everything was like clockwork - very precise."
The Commodores had two players in double-figures. Guard Mario Moore led Vanderbilt with 14 points and two assists and Julian Terrell came off the Commodore bench to score 11 points and grab seven boards.
The Salukis outscored the Commodores in the paint 34-14 having shot 56 percent from the field. "The effort, intensity and defensive presence were incredible tonight," Lowery said.
Following the championship round of the Las Vegas Tournament, the Salukis travel to Hawaii to take on the Rainbows Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 12 a.m. CT.
