Southern Illinois University
17-2, 11-0MVC
Missouri St.
14-8, 6-5MVC
Men's Basketball Holds On To Beat SMS, 59-52
02/03/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2004
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
Fans of the Southern Illinois University men's basketball team avoided the temptation as long as they could Tuesday night.
But with the Salukis up 17 points at home with 17 minutes remaining against cold-shooting Southwest Missouri State, it was too much to resist.
At that point, most of the 5,531 in attendance seemed to have marked another one in the win column for the Salukis and were already looking forward to Saturday's much-anticipated matchup against the Blue Menace from Omaha.
The Salukis appeared to be thinking along the same lines.
Should have known better.
Just when win No. 17 appeared all but in the books, SMS went on a 19-3 run over a 6 1/2 minute span. Next thing you know, the Bears were trailing by just one point with nine tension-filled minutes to go.
But -- showing the moxy that only battle-tested, championship-caliber teams display -- the Dawgs recovered from a near-collapse and grinded out a 59-52 victory over the Bears.
It was SIU's 24th-straight conference home win and ninth-straight victory overall.
SIU improved to school-best-ever 11-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference and increased its lead over second-place Creighton to 2 1/2 games heading into Saturday's 2 p.m. showdown in Omaha.
"I'd like to say we need to learn how to play 40 minutes, but we're in first place," SIU head coach Matt Paintersaid. "Our guys find ways to win. It's the same story. I write things up on the board, and I say the same things in here. It's not pretty at times, but our guys keep battling and do the things they have to down the stretch to win tight games."
"We've let a lot of teams come back," said SIU guard Darren Brooks. "It almost cost us again tonight."
Brooks led the Salukis (17-2) with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Brad Korn and Jamaal Tatum came up with a pair of huge buckets down the stretch, finishing with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Tatum hit a running five-footer at the 3:30 mark that gave SIU a 50-45 lead, making it a two-possession game after SMS blew a handful of opportunities to tie or take the lead.
Korn then hit a clutch 3-pointer at the 1:10 mark that gave SIU an eight-point lead -- and some breathing room -- in the final seconds.
The Salukis appeared to have things well in hand early in the second half, as a Korn 3-pointer at the 17:05 mark put SIU up 38-21.
But the Salukis let up ever so slightly soon after, and SMS took advantage with a 19-3 run that trimmed SIU's lead to just one point, 41-40, following a Blake Ahearn three-point play at the 8:53 mark.
Josh Warren and Stetson Hairston responded with back-to-back buckets to snap the run, however, stretching SIU's lead back to five points. Still, it was nip-and-tuck until the final minute of the game, as SMS played with a fire that was missing in the first half.
After the teams traded free throws, Ahearn cut SIU's lead to two points, 46-44, by hitting three free throws after being hacked beyond the arc at the 6:59 mark.
But the Bears came up empty on their next two opportunities to tie or take the lead, and LaMar Owen hit a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game again, 48-44, at the 4:33 mark.
A Merrill Andrews free-throw on the Bears' next possession made it a three-point game, but SIU responded with Tatum's clutch bucket, which was made possible by a Hairston offensive rebound on a Brooks airball.
SMS's Monwell Randle was then called for an offensive foul to give the ball back to SIU, and Sylvester Willis hit a pair of clutch free throws after being fouled in the lane at the 2:42 mark to give SIU a 52-45 lead.
Andrews hit a couple free-throws to make it a five-point game, but the Bears came up empty their next trip down after an SIU miss. Korn responded with a dramatic trifecta -- beating his man badly on a ball fake -- and barely beating the shot clock.
"It's a shot Coach (Paul) Lusk has worked on with me since he got here," Korn said. "I shot-faked, let the guy flock past, and shot it. Coach has confidence in me (and) keeps telling me to shoot. I just went in there and shot it and it went in."
Andrews led SMS (14-8, 6-5) with 15 points, while Blake Ahearn scored all nine of his points in the second half.
The Bears finished with more turnovers (19) than field goals (18), and SIU took full advantage, finishing with a 22-9 advantage on points off turnovers.
"SIU is a very good team that relies on their defense," SMS head coach Barry Hinson said. "They play great defense, and it showed tonight."
SIU shot just 37 percent from the field, but took nine more shots than SMS.
Despite the late-game drama, SIU led from the 16:18 mark of the first half on.
Things were back and forth until the Dawgs put together a 12-0 run, starting with a Tatum basket at the 13:55 mark.
A Brooks jumper finished the run at the 9:03 mark, and SIU went into halftime seemingly in charge with a 31-17 lead.
SMS struggled mightily in the first 20 minutes, hitting just 6-of-18 field goals and turning the ball over 11 times.
