Men's Basketball Holds on to Beat SEMO, 72-68
12/18/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2004
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Road victories are hard to come by in college basketball, so Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery wasn't complaining after his team nearly squandered an 11-point lead, yet held on to beat Southeast Missouri State, 72-68.
The Salukis (7-2) survived a late flurry of 3-pointers by the Redhawks (3-5) to pull out their first road victory of the season after losses at Hawaii and Arkansas-Little Rock earlier this year.
"I told the players I'm not coming in here to scream at you after the game," Lowery said. "I'm happy. That first road win is important."
Southern appeared to have the game in control after Darren Brooks, who led the Salukis with 19 points, made a layup with 2:58 remaining that put SIU ahead, 68-59.
But SEMO chipped away at the lead, and closed to within 68-65 on a 3-pointer by Dainmon Gonner with 31 seconds to go.
After Jamaal Tatum made a pair of free throws to put SIU ahead, 70-65, Derek Winans nailed a long 3-pointer to bring the Redhawks to within 70-68 with 21 seconds left.
Things got really interesting after Stetson Hairston missed the front end of the one-and-one, and SEMO came down the floor with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Defense saved the day for the Salukis, however, as Randal Falker swatted a driving layup attempt by Winans out of bounds with seven seconds on the clock.
"That's why he's in the game," Lowery said. "Defensively, I knew if they got to the basket, he would challenge them."
Falker was guarding SEMO forward Reggie Golson, but slid across the lane when he saw Winans taking it to the hoop.
"I saw him coming with that little left hand shot, and he started losing his balance, so I knew he was going to shoot the ball," Falker said. "I just went over there and blocked it."
On the ensuing inbounds play, Gonner was blanketed by Saluki forward LaMar Owen and forced up an off-balance shot with two seconds left. Tony Young rebounded the miss for SIU and was immediately fouled. His two free throws sealed the victory.
"We could have faltered there when they made some big-time shots," Lowery said. "But I was happy to see our young guys step up and make free throws."
Still, Lowery wasn't pleased with several of SIU's offensive possessions in the last three minutes of the game. The Salukis had difficulty inbounding the ball on numerous occasions and weren't able to get good looks at the basket.
"We didn't execute down the stretch at the end of a shot clock the way we have the past two games in the last two minutes," Lowery said.
The game was a spirited contest between rival teams separated by just a 45-minute drive. A large contingent of Saluki fans was on hand, and they erupted late in the first half when SIU finished the half with a 6-0 run to take a 33-27 halftime lead.
Josh Warren made a pair of baskets during the momentum-building run -- a baseline jumper and a lay-in off a nice assist from Brooks. Warren finished with a season-high eight points.
It was SEMO's big men that dominated the second half, however. Gonner and Golson, who finished with 22 and 17 points, respectively, were relentless on the offensive end to help keep the Redhawks in the game against a Saluki squad that shot 58 percent in the second half.
"Those guys can make shots off the bounce, off the catch and shoot, or in the post," said Lowery. "We didn't stop them in their big run, but we stopped them at the end of the game."
Falker admitted he had his hands full when guarding Gonner.
"If you get too close, he'll go around you," he said. "If you get too far away, he'll shoot the three. It's a no-win situation. You really have to act like a guard and be down."
The reason the SEMO duo couldn't put the Redhawks over the top was the hot shooting Tatum, who made 4-of-6 from 3-point range and finished with 18 points. He said the victory will be a confidence-booster for SIU.
"You don't know how it feels to be the person in someone else's house that everyone is rooting against," he said. "Once you get your confidence up by beating a good team, that propels you into the next game."
Falker may have summed it up best.
"It doesn't matter how you do it, a win is a win on the road," he said. "You can win by one or you can win by 30, as long as you come out with that W, that's a relief."
