Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
24-3, 17-1
Northern Iowa
18-9, 12-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | 21 | 31 | 52 |
| Northern Iowa | 33 | 35 | 68 |
Men's Basketball Falls at Northern Iowa, 68-52
03/01/2004 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2004
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Southern Illinois saw its bid for a perfect Missouri Valley Conference season come to an end Monday night as Northern Iowa handed the Salukis their first loss of the season in league play, 68-52, snapping Southern's 16-game winning streak.
The Salukis (24-3, 17-1) turned in their worst performance of the season, falling behind 33-21 at halftime, and by as many as 22 points in the second half. They shot just 33 percent from the field and 43 percent from the free throw line.
"Our offense has sputtered at times this year," Saluki head coach Matt Painter said. "But if you guard your man and play team defense and you scrap for every ball, you can win those games when you don't shoot well."
Northern Iowa (18-9, 12-6) was the aggressor from the opening tip. No statistic demonstrates it more clearly than their advantage at the free throw line. The Panthers went to the line 26 times and made 22. SIU was just 6-of-14 from the charity stripe.
The Salukis got off to a slow start as they made just one field goal in the first four minutes of the game. Brooks McKowen's 3-pointer with 16:14 left in the first half put UNI up 9-3.
UNI pushed its lead to 31-17 on a 3-pointer by Matt Schneiderman with 4:20 to go before settling for a 12-point halftime lead. Schneiderman finished with a game-high 16 points.
Neither team shot particularly well in the first half - the Panthers made 33 percent from the field, while the Salukis connected on a meager 28 percent. But UNI did something few Saluki opponents have done this season - take care of the basketball.
Southern normally thrives on its defense, creating turnovers and easy baskets. Yet UNI turned it over just twice in the first half.
Compounding SIU's woes was poor free throw shooting. They hit just 2-of-8 prior to intermission.
The Panthers worked patiently on offense in the second half, often using most of the shot clock before finding an open shot. They made five 3-pointers in the second half and 8-of-19 in the game.
Southern's offense was anything but crisp as it frequently settled for outside jumpers that weren't falling. SIU had just two assists in the second half and a season-low five in the game.
"It's like a boxing match," Painter said. "You can't have your hands in your pockets. You have to be the one throwing the punches. Tonight, UNI was throwing all the punches."
The Salukis made one, brief run at the lead in the second half. Tony Young hit a short jumper with 12:02 remaining to close the deficit to 41-36.
But, UNI answered with a staggering 23-6 run to build its biggest lead of the game, 66-44, with 2:15 to go.
The game was so clearly out of reach that Painter pulled his top three scorers, Darren Brooks, Brad Korn and Stetson Hairston, out of the game with four minutes to play.
"The way we have won all season is the way we just got beat, just by hustle and scrapping and doing the little things," Painter said. "(UNI) deserved to win this basketball game."
The game was especially meaningful for the Panthers because it moved them into a three-way tie for second place in the league with Wichita State and Creighton. However, by beating Southern, UNI won the tiebreaker and will be the #2-seed in the MVC Tournament, followed by Wichita State and Creighton.
The 15th-ranked Salukis were trying to become the first team in the Missouri Valley Conference to sweep an 18-game league slate since Oklahoma did it 75 years ago.
"Sometimes, you have to get back to the basics of what you do," Painter said. "This isn't a major disaster here when you go 17-1 in the league. But we have to get back to guarding the basketball better.
"Hopefully, we can bounce back. We're going to practice hard this week."
The Salukis had three players score in double figures in the contest. Brooks, LaMar Owen and Jamaal Tatum each recorded 10 points. However, their inside trio of Korn, Sylvester Willis and Josh Warren combined to score five points on 2-of-14 from the field.
SIU still has the number one seed in the conference tournament, which begins Friday. The Salukis will play at noon on Saturday against the winner of the Indiana State-Evansville game.
