Southern Illinois University
4-2
Little Rock
4-3
Men's Basketball Stumbles at Arkansas-Little Rock
12/07/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2004
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The team in maroon and white played suffocating defense, caused turnovers and controlled the tempo of the contest. Standard fare for a Southern Illinois men's basketball game, except for one thing -- the squad that did it was Arkansas-Little Rock, and the Salukis were the victims.
UALR (4-3) out-hustled and out-shot Southern Illinois (4-2) en route to a 70-53 win Tuesday night at Alltel Arena. It was the worst non-conference loss suffered by the Salukis since Colorado State beat SIU by 18 points on Dec. 18, 2001.
Richard Hardman, who entered the game averaging six points per contest for the Trojans, made 8-of-9 shots from the field and scored 18 points to lead Little Rock.
UALR, which took most of its shots from within 10 feet of the basket, blistered the nets for 60 percent shooting. No team has converted 60 percent of its attempts against the highly regarded Saluki defense since Evansville did it on Feb. 24, 2001.
"(UALR) had a very good gameplan," Saluki head coach Chris Lowery said. "They wanted to slow us down and make it a possession game, and they are to be commended for that."
After the lead changed hands four times in the first eight minutes, the Trojans seized control with a 17-4 run that helped build a 30-19 advantage with 4:07 left in the first half. Two of the baskets during the span were offensive tip-ins in which both a Saluki and Trojan player battled for the rebound and the carom bounced in.
The Salukis seemed a step slow for every loose ball or a split-second too late with every pass, uncommon for a team that usually dictates tempo to its opponent.
"You don't come out fired up and ready to compete, you can't do that on the road," Lowery said. "Sometimes you can get away with that at home, but on the road, you have to have a different mindset."
After trailing by nine at halftime, SIU quickly cut the deficit to four points on a pull-up jumper by Jamaal Tatum and a three-point play near the basket by Josh Warren.
The Salukis' momentum evaporated quickly as Hardman scored six points in a 14-4 Trojans' run that gave UALR a 48-34 lead with 12:55 remaining. They led by double digits the rest of the game, and the final margin of 17 points was their biggest lead.
"We didn't do anything with a sense of urgency," Lowery said. "We tried to call timeouts and get them fired up, but everybody was very lethargic."
Saluki guard Darren Brooks, who was battling a cold virus, had his string of 40-straight games in double figures snapped. The team's leading scorer and the defending player-of-the year in the Missouri Valley Conference was held to eight points.
"When you don't have energy, you don't cut hard and you're pressing," Lowery said.
But the rookie head coach refused to blame a head cold or the Salukis' eight-day layoff for the team's poor performance.
"We can't make excuses," he said. "Any time you get a chance to play a ballgame, you have to compete. I'll never let them make excuses for bad play."
The Salukis hardly resembled the team that dominated Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt and Western Athletic Conference favorite UTEP earlier this year.
"We didn't come out with a sense of urgency and poise like we usually do," senior forward LaMar Owen said. "Our whole team was down a little bit and didn't come out with the energy we usually come out with."
Tatum, who had 11 points, was the only player in double figures for SIU. The Salukis' shot the ball poorly from both 3-point range (2-of-16) and the free throw line (3-of-8).
Especially disappointing to Lowery, a former point guard, was the team's assist-to-turnover ratio. Southern turned it over 16 times and had just nine assists.
Lowery, whose team has appeared more motivated when playing against a big-name opponent this season, said he didn't regret scheduling Sun Belt Conference foe UALR, however.
"We have four seniors, so we wanted to go on the road and play a mid-major team who is going to be good in their league," he said. "That's something we're going to continue to do."
The Salukis will play six of their next seven games at home and return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. against Murray State at SIU Arena.
